SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Graham Allen: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2004, Official Report, columns 206–07W, on the Crown Prosecution Service, what progress has been made with the planned review of interaction between prosecutors and the police in the process from arrest to charge.

Harriet Harman: A review of the charging arrangements in Nottinghamshire took place during December 2004. An action plan setting out a number of recommendations for improvement was provided to the Area after the review. Work on these actions has commenced and is being taken forward by the joint charging team.
	A follow up visit to the Area, by the joint Crown Prosecution Service and police charging team to assess progress against the action plan, will be made in the spring.

Crown Prosecution Service

Andy Burnham: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on reform of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Harriet Harman: The CPS reform programme aims to put prosecutors at the heart of the Criminal Justice System, providing a prosecuting service that meets the needs of victims and communities. This means prosecutors having a bigger role at each stage of the criminal justice process from charge through to sentence and working in co-operation with others in the criminal justice process while maintaining that independence of decision-making which is the hallmark of British prosecutors.

Child Witnesses

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps the Crown Prosecution Service takes to prevent trauma suffered by children serving as witnesses at trials.

Harriet Harman: Crown Prosecutors work closely with the police and other agencies to ensure that children, receive the help and support they need to cope with the court process and to assist them to give their best evidence through a range of special measures, including the use of screens, giving evidence in private, video recorded evidence in chief, live TV links, and the removal of wigs and gowns.
	The introduction of witness care units across the country will further improve the experience for children. These will offer a single point of contact for witnesses, parents and carers, and a detailed needs assessment will be carried out to identify a witness's specific support requirements. A tailored support system can then be provided to them.
	In relation, to child witnesses, witness care units can be expected to support children by, for example, arranging pre-trial court visits, providing an explanation as to what will happen in court, arranging a home visit, providing safe and easy access to court on the day of trial and also making contact with the local, school if there are difficulties in that regard.

Information Technology

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the use of information technology to improve efficiency of working between the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts.

Harriet Harman: Information technology has a key role to play in delivering a modernised, joined-up criminal justice system. The Crown Prosecution Service is working with the courts and other criminal justice system colleagues to secure more efficient use of information technology.
	Examples of current initiatives are the use of secure e-mail between criminal justice practitioners, which will facilitate the effective trials management programme.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

School Meals

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to involve parents in assessing the quality and nutritional value of school meals.

Ruth Kelly: Parents will be the front line of the drive to improve school meals, with an independent school food trust and tougher standards on processed food introduced in the new school year. Many schools already ensure that children eat healthy school meals. However, parents need to work with schools to improve the quality and nutritional value of their child's school meal. Further information on this initiative will be available in due course.

Vocational Education

Syd Rapson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to increase the take-up of vocational training in schools and colleges.

Ruth Kelly: On 23 February I placed before the House the Command Paper "14 to 19 Education and Skills". This should lead directly to an increase in the numbers undertaking vocational education and training in schools and colleges. Diplomas and better training facilities will make vocational education an attractive choice offering real opportunities. These proposals build on the success of our Apprenticeship and Increasing Flexibility programmes which have already provided a high quality vocational education for over 1 million young people.

Building Schools for the Future

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she expects schools in Northumberland to benefit in the building schools for the future programme.

Stephen Twigg: Building Schools for the Future aims to transform secondary schools in 15 waves of investment from 2005–06, subject to future public spending decisions. We recently announced over £40 million capital for Northumberland over the next three years. Further, by 2011, we aim to support at least one secondary school of the future in the county. Its northern and central areas should join Building Schools for the Future between 2014 and 2017, followed by its western and south-eastern areas.

Building Schools for the Future

Peter Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she expects to announce the next stage of funding under the Building Schools for the Future Programme.

Stephen Twigg: We aim to announce the prioritisation of waves four and five of Building Schools for the Future, which will access funding in 2008–09 and 2009–10, in the autumn of 2006 following the settlement of the 2006 Spending Review.

Special Schools (Gloucestershire)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the future of special schools in Gloucestershire.

Margaret Hodge: Under arrangements introduced in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, the consideration of proposals for establishing, altering, or discontinuing maintained special schools are a matter for local decision making. It is for the local School Organisation Committee to consider any objections received when they make their decision on proposals. If the School Organisation Committee cannot reach a unanimous decision, it will pass the case to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator for determination.

Education Select Committee Report

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the recent report of the Education Select Committee on Public Expenditure on Education and Skills.

Stephen Twigg: We welcome the report on Public Expenditure from the Education and Skills Select Committee.
	We are compiling a reply to the recommendations and will shortly be sending our reply to the Committee.

Music Manifesto

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on progress in implementing the music manifesto.

Derek Twigg: We are making good progress. A Manifesto Champion and Steering Group are in place and drawing up plans for future shared activities.
	More than 180 organisations and individuals have signed up to the Music Manifesto. Together they have made more than 100 pledges of programmes and resources to support the key aims—including one from Lloyds TSB who pledged £10 million for musical instruments earlier this month. DfES pledges alone amount to more than £220 million.

Broadband Access

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in (i) Leicester, South and (ii) England have broadband internet access.

Derek Twigg: My Department does not hold information specifically for Leicester South. As at the end of December 2004, 43 per cent. of primary schools and 100 per cent. of secondary schools in Leicester City had broadband connections, and 43 per cent. of primary schools and 98 per cent. of secondary schools in Leicestershire had broadband connections. This compares to 69 per cent. of primary schools, 99 per cent. of secondary schools and 72 per cent. of all schools in England with high speed broadband connections. We are on track to connect all schools by 2006.

EMA

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in Leicester, South are receiving education maintenance allowance.

Ivan Lewis: On 1 February 2005, the number of students who had received one or more EMA payments for the academic year 2004/05 in the Leicestershire area was 6,232. This is the total figure, comprised of 3,984 students in the Leicester City local education authority area and 2,248 students in the Leicestershire local education authority area. We do not break this data down further into constituency and ward areas.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee for the implementation of the programme establishing a single financing and programming instrument for cultural co-operation (Culture 2000) met; when and where these meetings took place; which UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: I have been asked to reply.
	Between 1 July 2003 and 31 December 2004, the Culture 2000 Management Committee met in Brussels on: 7 July 2003, 17 November 2003 (Italian presidency), 29 March 2004 (Irish presidency) and 9 November 2004 (Dutch presidency). DCMS officials attended all the meetings.

Learndirect

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total costs of promotion of the learndirect scheme have been since the scheme's inception.

Ivan Lewis: Since its launch in 2000 learndirect has enrolled over 1.5 million learners and handled over 21 million inquiries through its National Advice Line. On the basis of information provided by Ufi, learndirect has spent £93.74 million to 31 July 2004 promoting these services.

Learndirect

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people have completed learndirect courses.

Ivan Lewis: In just five years learndirect has firmly established itself as one of the biggest e-learning networks in the world, and is successfully making learning more accessible to individuals and businesses. On the basis of information provided by Ufi, over 1.5 million learners have enrolled on learndirect courses and over 920,000 of these learners have completed their course.

National Curriculum

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how her Department will tailor the curriculum to stretch academically able pupils.

Stephen Twigg: Our White Paper published on 23 February includes a range of proposals for ensuring stretch for all pupils across the 11 to 19 phase of secondary education. These include freeing up time at Key Stage 3 to introduce scope for greater breadth, depth and pace for gifted and talented pupils; the opportunity to provide some higher education courses in maintained schools; and building on the strengths of the existing GCSE and A-level qualifications in order to increase stretch and challenge for all pupils.

Plater College, Oxford

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what advice the Learning and Skills Council gave Plater College, Oxford, following the report on the College of 20 October 2004 by the Adult Learning Inspectorate.

Ivan Lewis: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to my hon. Friend with this information and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Plater College, Oxford

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether (a) her Department and (b) the Learning and Skills Council have a claim on any part of the assets of Plater College, Oxford, should its closure go ahead.

Ivan Lewis: Plater College, Oxford, is a Roman Catholic College operating in the FE sector. The college trustees have taken the decision to close the college in July 2005. It is not known, at this stage, whether the Department or the LSC will have any claim on the college's assets. This will be one of the issues to resolve as the college nears closure and will be dependent upon the terms of its memorandum and articles of association and its contractual arrangements with the LSC, which funds some of its activities.

Plater College, Oxford

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the future of Plater College, Oxford.

Ivan Lewis: Plater College, Oxford, is a Roman Catholic college operating in the FE sector. The College Trustees have decided to close the college in July 2005. The LSC is working closely with the college to ensure that the interests of current students and other learners in the area are safeguarded.

Pupil Referral Units

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost is of setting up a new pupil referral unit; and what the average running costs were for pupil referral units in the last year for which figures are available.

Derek Twigg: We do not hold information on the cost of setting up new pupil referral units (PRUs). The cost will depend on the size of the accommodation required, the number of pupils and the particular needs to be met.
	All PRUs are very different, and as a result the average running cost will vary widely depending on the individual characteristics of the PRU. However dividing the total planned expenditure on the provision of education at PRUs in England in 2004–05 (as recorded on local authorities 2004–05 section 52 budget statement) by the total number of PRUs in England as at January 2004 gives an estimated average planned running cost of around £466,000.

School Playground Schemes

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what support the Government are giving to school playground schemes.

Stephen Twigg: Government support for capital investment in schools has risen to £4.9 billion this year, will be £5.5 billion next year, £5.8 billion in 2006–07 and will reach £6.3 billion by 2007–08. All schools and local authorities will benefit from this programme, which includes flexibility for local authorities and schools to prioritise expenditure on the areas they consider most important, including playgrounds.
	The Big Lottery Fund (BLF) is providing around £81 million, through the New Opportunities for Physical Education and Sport programme, towards playground improvements in England. This includes playground markings, improvements to drainage and refurbishing existing facilities. We are also working with the BLF to ensure that these facilities will fully complement the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. This programme aims to renew the secondary school estate (including playgrounds) in 15 waves starting from 2005–06. Schools, local authorities and their partners are encouraged to look as widely as possible at all educational needs, both inside and outside the classroom.
	Furthermore, the Sporting Playgrounds programme is supporting £10 million of capital investment between April 2003 and March 2005. This will enhance around 600 primary school playgrounds to increase physical/sporting activities and improve behaviour.
	For the past three years the Department has also provided £250,000 a year to Learning through Landscape, which has encouraged schools to improve and develop their grounds for curriculum-related use.

Truancy

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children played truant in the last year for which figures are available.

Stephen Twigg: In the school year 2003/04, 567,503 primary pupils and 696,600 secondary pupils recorded at least one half day's unauthorised absence. Unauthorised absence includes absence due to lateness or family holidays taken during term time without the school's permission, as well as truancy. Recent research in to pupil absence suggests that around 2 per cent. of secondary school pupils are persistent truants, responsible for almost half of all unauthorised absence in secondary schools.

Vocational Training

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she will next visit a further education college in the south-east to assess the provision of vocational training places.

Derek Twigg: I currently have no plans to visit further education colleges in the south-east. I would consider any such invitations, depending on diary commitments.

PRIME MINISTER

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Prime Minister whether the decision by the Metropolitan police to interview hon. Members as part of an on-going Official Secrets Act investigation into the disclosure of Iraq-related material was (a) authorised by and (b) communicated to (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in his Government.

Tony Blair: The Metropolitan police have kept officials in the Cabinet Office informed of the progress of their inquiry, which was initiated at the request of the Cabinet Office. Decisions about the handling of the inquiry are a matter for the police.

Official Correspondence

Philip Hammond: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has used a signing machine for official correspondence.

Tony Blair: No. My office does, however, use an electronic version of my signature on some letters and messages.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Iraq

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support the UK has given to democracy-building in Iraq; what the cost of that support has been; and what proportion of the budget was allocated to support for women.

Hilary Benn: Democracy building is a strategic priority of the UK's support to Iraq, as set out in DFID's Iraq Country Assistance Plan (February 2004). DFID works closely with the FCO to support and encourage a stable, united and law abiding state that provides effective and representative government, sustainable economic growth and rising living standards for all Iraqi citizens.
	DFID has funded a number of initiatives to support democracy-building activities in Iraq. These have included $10 million in support of the Independent Elections Commission of Iraq (IECI) for the recent elections; and funding for two advisers to the UN team supporting the IECI. DFID's £5 million Political Participation Fund (PPF) supports initiatives which aim to increase opportunities for political representation and participation in the political process. Projects funded so far include voter education and media and monitors' training for the recent elections. There is no specific allocation to support for women, but the project has a particular focus on supporting women's participation in the political process. So far nine projects amounting to over £300,000 have been specifically targeted at women.

Kosovo

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support the UK has given to democracy-building measures in Kosovo, including training of local and national legislators; what the budget was for that support; and what proportion of that budget was allocated to support for women.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID has provided the following funding to democracy-building measures in Kosovo:
	
		
			 Project Year Amount (£) 
		
		
			 1. Support for domestic election observers—Local elections 2000 110,000 
			 2. Support for domestic election observers—General Election 2001 163,584 
			 3. Support to Kosovo Criminal Defence and Resource Centre (promoting human rights) 2001–02 93,000 
			 4. International Foundation for Election Systems—Civic and Voter Education Outreach Programme 2001–02 349,749 
			 5. International Foundation for Election Systems—Electoral Assistance and Civic Participation Programme 2002–03 249,899 
		
	
	In addition, the FCO has provided the following assistance under the Western Balkans Global Conflict Prevention Pool, which is a joint strategy between DFID, the FCO, and MoD:
	
		
			 Project Fund Amount (£) Description 
		
		
			 2002–03
			 1. KOCB (Kosovo Organised Crime Bureau, UNMIK) GCPP (Organised Crime [OC]) 215,000 Law and order 
			 2. Plemetina Community Centre GCPP (Democracy and Interethnic Relations [DIER]) 51,561 Reduction of inter-ethnic tension, confidence building and greater co-operation between ethnic groups in Plemetina community. 
			 2003–04
			 3. KOCB GCPP (OC) 532,000 Law and order 
			 4. IFES-Local Participation and Governance Programme GCPP (DIER) 133,190 Community development and bringing citizens closer to municipalities 
			 5. Open Eyes-Documentary Training Through Production GCPP (DIER) 100,961 Building bridges of divided communities, portraying diversity in this region. 
			 6. Forum—Customs Monitoring Kosovo GCPP 100,000 Creation of an anti-crime and anti-corruption coalition involving structures, Kosovo governing institutions, UNMIK Customs Service, civil society organisations, the main printed and electronic media in Kosovo, to fight trafficking. 
			 2003–04–05
			 7. KACI Civil Bridges GCPP (DIER) 117,684 Monitoring of municipal assemblies, and promotion of active and well-informed citizenship. 
			 8. Podgorce Returns GCPP (DIER) 296,960 Stabilisation and Integration for Returnees to Podgorce 
			 9. IFES-Human Rights and Good Governance GCPP (DIER) 345,380 Building NGOs capacities, working with elected officials and civil servants, training on human rights, transparency, anti-corruption, and advocacy. 
			 10. Resolution for Kosovo Politicians GCPP (DIER) 81,700 Five day conflict resolution course for Kosovo politicians. 
			 11. Stabilisation of minorities and returns through Micro-credit GCPP (DIER) and GOFRE 360,000 Promotion of sustainable reintegration of minorities and returns to Kosovo by enhancing their participation in the mainstream economy, through skills development and the provision of business mentoring, training and micro-credit. 
		
	
	The bulk of the UK's assistance to the region is contributed through the European Union's Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation (CARDS) programme. The UK contributes approximately 19 per cent. of CARDS funding which provided €291.18 million to Kosovo in the years 2002–04. The European Commission has funded democracy related projects in Kosovo including:
	
		
			 Project Year Amount (€ million) 
		
		
			 1. Support to the assembly of Kosovo 2003–05 2 million 
			 2. Building institutional capacity of Civil Society organisations to include those representing different ethnic communities 2004–05 1 million 
		
	
	None of these projects had specific allocations for women, although women have benefited from many of the activities.

Malawi

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of the funds from the new six-year health programme for Malawi, announced in December 2004, is earmarked for salaries of health workers in Malawi.

Hilary Benn: The salary component of the new six-year health programme in Malawi will cost $100 million including a 50 per cent. increase in salary for existing health workers and the salaries of additional health workers. This salary component represents about half of the total cost of the Emergency Human Resources Programme, which also includes training of Malawian health workers and the provision of expatriate volunteer specialists. DFID is contributing £55 million towards that programme or about half the total cost. Other smaller contributions will come from the Global Fund, UN agencies and bilateral donors. In addition, DFID is contributing £45 million towards the separate Essential Health Package component, making a total contribution of £100 million to the Malawi's health programme over the next six years.

Swaziland

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what development aid has been provided by the UK to Swaziland in each year since 1997; and what assessment his Department has made of its effectiveness.

Hilary Benn: Total UK assistance to Swaziland since 1997 is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 1997–98 3,448 
			 1998–99 3,981 
			 1999–2000 3,533 
			 2000–01 2,646 
			 2001–02 1,282 
			 2002–03 1,343 
			 2003–04 907 
		
	
	DFID projects are subject to annual reviews of effectiveness. The results of the reviews are recorded on a central project review data-base which provides for reporting of portfolio performance.

TREASURY

Catering Costs

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent on (a) tea and (b) biscuits in the Department in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: Since July 2002, meeting refreshments for the Treasury have been supplied by the PFI contractor, Exchequer Partnerships. Meeting refreshments include tea, coffee, mineral water and biscuits. The costs for 2002–03 (July to 31 March) were £121,000, and the costs for 2003–04 were £188,000. It is not possible to identify separate costs for tea or biscuits, and information in respect of the earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Charities (Scotland)

George Foulkes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to accept registration of charities in Scotland by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator as providing proof of eligibility for tax relief for the bodies concerned.

John Healey: Wherever possible the Inland Revenue will accept registration as a charity by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator as proof of eligibility for charitable tax reliefs. However, taxation is not a devolved matter. The Revenue is required to apply the Taxes Acts consistently across the UK. In doing so, case law has established that the Revenue should apply its understanding of English law in relation to the definition of a charity where Scottish law differs from English law.

Debt Cancellation (Africa)

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which countries in Africa have had their debts cancelled in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: Since 1997, 15 countries have reached completion point in the HIPC initiative. All of these countries are now receiving irrevocable debt relief (October 2004—Madagascar; July 2004—Ghana; April 2004—Niger, Ethiopia, Senegal; January 2004—Nicaragua; December 2003—Guyana; March 2003—Benin, Mali; June 2002—Mauritania; April 2002— Burkina Faso; November 2001—Tanzania; September 2001—Mozambique; June 2001—Bolivia; May 2000—Uganda).
	A further 12 countries are at decision point and are receiving interim debt relief (July 2003—Democratic Republic of Congo; March 2002—Sierra Leone; May 2001—Chad; December 2000—Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Malawi, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Zambia; October 2000—Cameroon; June 2000—Honduras).
	In addition to those countries currently benefiting from the HIPC Initiative, the following African countries received treatments from the Paris Club involving an element of debt cancellation: 2004—Republic of Congo, Burundi; 2002—Cote d'Ivoire; 1998—Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire.
	However, many countries are still having to choose between servicing their debt and investing in health, education, infrastructure and other areas necessary to allow them to attain the Millennium Development Goals. That is why the UK is proposing that we match bilateral debt relief of up to 100 per cent. with multilateral debt relief of up to 100 per cent. The UK will provide its share, approximately 10 per cent., of multilateral debt owed by eligible countries to the International Development Association and African Development Bank, and will continue to call on others to join us in this initiative.

Drug-related Deaths

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many drug-related deaths there were in people aged under (a) 21, (b) 30 and (c) 40 years in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London borough in the last five years for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Sarah Teather, dated 24 February 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question asking how many drug-related deaths there were in people aged under (a) 21, (b) 30, (c) 40 in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London Borough in the last five years for which figures are available. (217548)
	Figures are readily available from death certification on deaths due to drug poisoning, not the total number that were drug-related. The most recent year for which figures are available is 2002. Numbers of deaths certified as due to drug poisoning for each London Borough and the London Government Office Region in the five years 1998 to 2002 are given in the attached table. There were too few deaths at ages under 21 in all London Boroughs to release figures without risk of disclosure.
	Figures are not readily available where death was indirectly related to the use of drugs as the direct cause is generally selected as the underlying cause of death (e.g. HIV infection).
	
		Deaths related to drug poisoning(1), at ages under 30 and 40(2) by London borough(3), 1998–2002(4)
		
			  All aged under 30 All aged under 40 
			  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 City of London (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Barking and Dagenham (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 6 5 (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Barnet (5)— (5)— 6 (5)— (5)— 9 8 11 8 (5)— 
			 Bexley (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 8 (5)— 5 (5)— 
			 Brent 7 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 15 5 (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Bromley (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 5 7 5 (5)— 6 10 
			 Camden 11 8 6 5 5 28 17 18 12 11 
			 Croydon (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 7 6 7 (5)— 7 
			 Ealing (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 7 10 (5)— 6 (5)— 
			 Enfield (5)— (5)— (5)— 7 (5)— 7 (5)— (5)— 12 (5)— 
			 Greenwich (5)— 5 6 (5)— (5)— 7 13 13 8 7 
			 Hackney (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 11 6 7 7 5 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham (5)— (5)— (5)— 5 (5)— 8 12 8 10 6 
			 Haringey (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 9 9 8 7 9 
			 Harrow (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 9 5 (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Havering (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 5 
			 Hillingdon (5)— (5)— (5)— 5 (5)— 9 7 (5)— 5 (5)— 
			 Hounslow (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 7 (5)— (5)— 6 
			 Islington (5)— 7 (5)— (5)— (5)— 9 17 15 13 7 
			 Kensington and Chelsea (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 10 8 (5)— 9 5 
			 Kingston upon Thames (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 7 5 (5)— (5)— (5)— 
			 Lambeth 11 11 7 9 7 30 24 17 17 15 
			 Lewisham 6 (5)— (5)— (5)— 5 19 8 11 6 11 
			 Merton (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 7 5 7 (5)— 6 
			 Newham (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 12 8 6 6 7 
			 Redbridge (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 6 5 (5)— (5)— 
			 Richmond upon Thames (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 5 (5)— 8 (5)— 
			 Southwark 7 7 (5)— (5)— (5)— 14 14 12 11 9 
			 Sutton (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 6 
			 Tower Hamlets 5 (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 13 7 9 8 9 
			 Waltham Forest (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 8 (5)— (5)— 6 (5)— 
			 Wandsworth (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— (5)— 11 10 6 6 (5)— 
			 Westminster City of 5 5 (5)— (5)— (5)— 23 13 11 7 6 
			 London 127 113 78 85 76 318 270 219 208 187 
		
	
	(1) Defined using the following codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision for 2001 and 2002: F11-F16, F18-F19, X40-X44, X60-X64, Y10-Y14, X85 and the following codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision for 1998–2000: 292, 304, 305.2–305.9, E850-E858, E950.0-E950.5, E962.0 and E980.0-E980.5
	(2) Data are for persons aged between 0 and 29 and 0 and 39.
	(3) Usual residence of the deceased by London Borough.
	(4) Data are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.
	(5) The numbers in these cells have been suppressed to protect confidentiality.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics.

Earnings (London)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for (a) male, (b) female and (c) all workers in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London borough the (A) weekly median earnings and (B) distribution of earnings for those earning (1) under the point below which 10 per cent. of earners fall and (2) the point above which 10 per cent. of earners exceed.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Sarah Teather, dated 24 February 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to list for (a) males, (b) females and (c) all workers in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London borough the (A) weekly median earnings and (B) distribution of earnings for those earning (1) under the point below which 10 per cent. of earners fall and (2) the point above which 10 per cent. of earners exceed. (217546).
	Average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for Annual Survey of Hours and Earning tables. The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	These data are available on the national statistics web site: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/ASHE 2004_inc/tab?_la.xls
	We recommend that you use data for full time employees.
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It has a one per cent. sample of all employees.
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings publication criteria ensures that all estimates are undisclosive. A number of estimates have been removed from the published tables for these reasons.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Contact Committee on Certain Schemes for Collective Investment in Securities met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Contact Committee on Certain Schemes for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities met in Brussels on 18 July 2003, 22 October 2003, 19 December 2003 and 14 April 2004. Officials from HM Treasury and the Financial Services Authority attended the meetings.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the European Securities Committee met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Information on the composition of this committee and a summary record of the meetings held is available from the European Union website at http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Insurance Committee met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Information on the composition of this Committee and a record of the meetings held is available from the European Union website at http://europa. eu.int/index_en.htm.

Publications

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent on the production of in-house magazines in the Department in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The Treasury's estimated costs for the production of the in-house staff magazine, were as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1996–97 17,000 
			 1997–98 20,000 
			 1998–99 17,000 
			 1999–2000 18,000 
			 2000–01 16,000 
			 2001–02 18,000 
			 2002–03 21,000 
			 2003–04 20,000

Departmental Policies

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out, with statistical information relating as closely as possible to Rochdale constituency, the effects of his actions and policies on the constituency since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The Government have put in place a broad programme of both macroeconomic and microeconomic reform since our election in 1997 designed to better the economic performance of all parts of the UK. Since these policies were implemented, the economic performance of the Rochdale constituency has improved considerably. For example, since May 1997, claimant unemployment has fallen by 38 per cent., while long-term unemployment and long-term youth unemployment have both fallen by 76 and 74 per cent. respectively.
	The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at local area level, taken from the 2001 census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk./.

SR2004

Keith Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the Ministry of Defence's SR 2004 settlement letter.

Paul Boateng: The Ministry of Defence's SR 2004 settlement is set out in Chapter 13 of the 2004 Spending Review document (Cm 6237).
	Further detail on forward defence plans are set out in "Delivering Security in a Changing World—Future Capabilities" (Cm 6269).

Tax Credits

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff are employed by his Department to investigate tax credit fraud (a) in total and (b) per 100,000 recipients of tax credits; and what his latest estimate is of the total level of tax credit fraud.

John Healey: The total number of staff employed by Inland Revenue to look at claimant error in tax credits is around 1,350. The number of families in receipt of tax credits in December 2004 was 5.04 million, which equates to approximately 27 members of staff per 100,000 families in receipt of tax credits.
	Inland Revenue are currently reviewing a random sample of finalised 2003–04 awards to monitor the level of claimant error. However the Department will only be in a position to give an indication of the level of error later in 2005–06 once awards are finalised for the whole tax credit population and the exercise is completed.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many reports of computer failure the Inland Revenue has received since the introduction of new tax credits in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05.

Dawn Primarolo: None.
	There were some well-publicised problems in the early days when the system did not perform as expected. However, the system has worked throughout the entire period since tax credits were introduced and has been performing robustly for some considerable time now.

Windfall Receipts

Keith Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his definition of a windfall receipt is.

John Healey: A windfall receipt is not a term used either in Budget documents or the National Accounts.

TRANSPORT

Disabled Access (Chorley)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding has been made available to improve disabled access to transport services in the Chorley constituency.

Charlotte Atkins: Regulations introduced under part 5 of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) require that all new public service vehicles used on local and scheduled service with a carrying capacity of more than 22 passengers, and all new rail vehicles, have to be accessible to disabled people. In addition, duties under part 3 of the DDA require service providers to take reasonable steps to provide access to transport infrastructure such as bus station and railway stations.
	On funding the Government provide funding to improve access to public transport through the local transport plan (LTP) process. Local transport authorities in England outside London produce five-year LTPs, and report on progress against these plans in annual progress reports (APRs). The first five-year plans were submitted in 2000. The following table details the relevant funding categories allocated to the Lancashire local transport plan area, which includes Chorley.
	Decisions on how to target funding towards specific projects and initiatives such as those to improve public transport accessibility are made at local level.
	On access to the rail network, the SRA intend to consult on their disability strategy at the end of March. This will include priorities for improving accessibility at stations.
	
		Chorley (Lancashire) local authority
		
			 £ million 
			 Nature of funding 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Capital maintenance 6.10 16.63 17.78 13.34 16.18 
			 Integrated block (small schemes) 4.80 11.20 11.92 12.05 13.03 
			 Targeted bus grants 1.41 2.21 1.57 3.78 1.24 
			 Total 12.31 30.04 31.27 29.17 30.45

Blue Badge Scheme

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how application forms for disabled badges are made available to the public; and what the cost to public funds is of each method.

Charlotte Atkins: Application forms are available, on request, from local authorities. which are responsible for the administration of the Blue Badge Scheme. There is no statutory procedure that they are required to follow for the production or distribution of the forms.
	It is for individual local authorities to allocate appropriate resources to administer the Blue Badge Scheme. Under existing regulations they are able to charge up to £2 for each badge they issue, to contribute towards these costs.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many tins of beans have been distributed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency as part of its recent campaign; at what cost; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: DVLA distributed 36 tins of baked beans as part of an advertising campaign aimed at road tax evaders in the London area during January 2005. The cost of this was £305, which includes design and printing of labels and purchase of tins of beans.
	These tins were distributed to a number of radio stations in London, in order to generate on-air discussion about road tax evasion, and the disposal by crushing of untaxed vehicles.

M5

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the level of congestion on the M5 between junctions 23 and 25.

David Jamieson: The level of congestion on the M5 between Junctions 23 and 25 was considered as part of the London to South West and Wales Multi Modal Study (SWARMMS) commissioned by the Government office for the south-west. The final report in May 2002 stated that the motorway's operation was generally satisfactory at this location.
	The Highways Agency records traffic flows and continually monitors the operation of the motorway. Although there has been an increase in traffic flows since the SWARMMS report this has not had a significant impact on the operation of the motorway.

Northern Trains

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the remit is of the study commissioned by the Strategic Rail Authority into the respecification of the Northern Trains franchise; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) full remit and (b) final report when completed.

Tony McNulty: The contractors are being commissioned to provide advice to the Strategic Rail Authority for the review of the services in the Northern franchise. The review, which has always been part of the franchise specification, is required as the franchise has been derived from a complex merger of others and has a service pattern which has not been substantially reviewed for at least 10 years.
	I will place a copy of the specification to contractors for the review of the Northern franchise in the Library of the House once the contracts have been finalised. I will also publish a summary of the findings of the contractor when available.

Railway Stations

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many railway stations have (a) opened and (b) been re-opened since 1 May 1997.

Charlotte Atkins: pursuant to the reply, 1 February 2005, c. 763W
	The information provided should have been that since 1 May 1997 13 new stations have opened and 18 stations have re-opened.

Travel Costs

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the change in the relative costs of travelling by (a) car, (b) train and (c) bus has been in each year since 1975, taking 1975 as a base figure of 100, and discounting inflation.

Charlotte Atkins: holding answer 21 February 2005
	The following table shows the information requested on real changes in the cost of transport as indices based on 1975 = 100.
	
		
			  All motoring(6) Rail fares Bus fares 
		
		
			 1975 100.0 100.0 100.0 
			 1976 97.0 113.8 109.6 
			 1977 95.7 114.5 108.9 
			 1978 95.5 120.8 113.9 
			 1979 99.6 117.9 112.9 
			 1980 99.5 124.2 121.1 
			 1981 99.5 126.9 119.8 
			 1982 96.8 134.1 127.1 
			 1983 98.9 135.1 128.5 
			 1984 96.5 130.0 125.2 
			 1985 95.3 130.4 122.9 
			 1986 90.8 134.6 128.9 
			 1987 92.2 135.9 131.0 
			 1988 91.9 138.5 133.6 
			 1989 89.9 140.2 133.6 
			 1990 87.1 139.3 128.8 
			 1991 88.5 145.4 138.8 
			 1992 91.1 150.4 143.2 
			 1993 93.5 158.4 147.2 
			 1994 94.4 161.5 147.4 
			 1995 93.0 163.1 147.8 
			 1996 93.5 165.1 149.6 
			 1997 95.4 163.8 150.3 
			 1998 95.2 164.9 150.0 
			 1999 96.0 168.3 153.1 
			 2000 96.8 166.3 154.8 
			 2001 94.6 169.7 158.4 
			 2002 92.3 170.7 160.7 
			 2003 90.9 168.8 162.6 
			 2004 89.1 170.2 166.0 
		
	
	(6) "All motoring" includes the cost of purchase, maintenance, fuel tax and insurance.
	Note:
	The overall cost of motoring has fallen in real terms by 11 per cent. between 1975 and 2004. Over the same period, rail fares and bus fares have risen by 70 per cent. and 66 per cent. respectively.
	Source:
	Retail Prices Index, Office for National Statistics

Roads (Newcastle)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Highways Agency has been approached by Newcastle city council for (a) a 50 mph speed limit and (b) additional (i) accesses and (ii) slip roads on the A1 Newcastle Western By Pass between the Ponteland Road and Kingston Park Road interchanges.

David Jamieson: Newcastle city council has not approached the Highways Agency for a 50 mph speed limit or additional accesses and slip roads on the A1 Newcastle Western Bypass between Ponteland Road and Kingston Park Road interchanges.

Train Operating Companies (Car Parking Charges)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to discourage train operating companies from introducing car parking charges where none currently exist.

Tony McNulty: The charging for car parking facilities, is a matter for individual train operating companies.

WALES

Regional Assistance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent representations he has received about mismanagement of EU regional development grants; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: None.

Regional Assistance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what procedures are in place in his Department to ensure that EU regional development grants are used in accordance with European Commission rules.

Don Touhig: The Wales Office does not administer the European Structural Funds in Wales. The Managing Authority for European Structural Funds in Wales is the Welsh Assembly. It operates a management and control system that the Commission has agreed fully meets its regulatory requirements. This is underlined by the performance award worth £65.4 million given to the Assembly by the European Commission last year for their management of the programmes.

Welsh Language Board

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the outcome of his latest meeting with the Chair and Chief Executive of the Welsh Language Board.

Peter Hain: I last met the Chair, Meri Huws, and the Chief Executive, Meirion Prys Jones, on 24 January.
	We discussed a number of matters concerning the promotion of the Welsh language. The Government remain committed to the principle of treating Welsh and English on a basis of equality in the conduct of public business in Wales.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether the United Kingdom will seek to ensure that it remains mandatory for member states to support measures to improve animal welfare standards in negotiations in Council on the European Commission proposal for a Council Regulation on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (COM(2004) 490); and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  whether her Department is representing the (a) Scottish Executive and (b) Welsh Assembly in negotiations in Council on the European Commission proposal for a Council Regulation on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (COM(2004) 490);
	(3)  how many officials from the Animal Welfare Division of her Department have been involved in the discussions with representatives of the European Commission and other member states about the European Commission proposal for a Council Regulation on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (COM(2004) 490).

Alun Michael: The negotiations on the rural development regulation are continuing and throughout discussions the UK has been pushing for the necessary flexibility for member states to implement rural development programmes which reflect each countries priorities and circumstances and deliver the maximum public benefits. In accordance with this the UK has supported the inclusion of a measure to allow support for farmers who voluntarily meet higher animal welfare standards but have asked the Commission for clarification on their reasons for it being compulsory.
	Defra officials represent the UK position in EU negotiations on the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and argue in accordance with a negotiating line agreed by Ministers. The Ministers of the devolved Administrations are fully involved in discussions regarding the formulation of the UK policy position and we benefit from the support of their officials. Devolved officials generally deal direct with the Commission on issues relating to devolved rural development programmes. Within Defra officials from across the Department, including animal welfare division, and Ministers have been fully involved in agreeing the UK negotiating line.

Congestion Charge

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent on congestion (a) charges and (b) penalty charge notices by the Department since the commencement of the congestion charging scheme.

Alun Michael: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) Since the commencement of the congestion charging scheme a total of £3,620 has been paid as at January 2005.
	(b) During the same period the total paid in penalty charges is £240.

Dairy Farming

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the future of dairy farming in Lancashire.

Alun Michael: The UK dairy sector has a sustainable future and, in line with its "Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food", the Government will work with the industry to facilitate and support its development. The UK has a comparative advantage in terms of climate, farm efficiency and size over many of its competitors. If those involved in the dairy supply chain can work together to maximise this potential and address some of the difficulties it faces, then there is no reason why it should not succeed.

Departmental Catering

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many departmental (a) canteens and (b) bars there are; and how much has been spent on the (i) running, (ii) staffing and (iii) supply costs of each in each year since 1997.

Alun Michael: The Department was created in June 2001. There are 12 sites which have a catering facility to which Defra makes a contribution towards running costs. The total costs are:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2001–02 398,058 
			 2002–03 432,328 
			 2003–04 453,490 
		
	
	Note:
	£15,600 additional contribution towards staffing costs in London restaurants
	The Department regrets it is unable to split the costs as required. There is a bar and social club at one of the sites, all running costs are met by the Sports and Social Club.

Departmental Policies (Chorley)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what grants her Department makes available to farmers in Chorley.

Alun Michael: The England Rural Delivery Programme (ERDP) contributes to the delivery of the Government's Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food by helping farmers and foresters to respond better to consumer requirements and become more competitive, diverse, flexible and environmentally responsible. It also provides help to rural businesses and communities which need to adapt and develop.
	The ERDP provides a framework for the operation of 10 separate but integrated schemes which provide new opportunities to protect and improve the countryside, to develop sustainable enterprises and to help rural communities to thrive. A total of £1.6 billion of EU and Government money is being made available under these schemes in England during the seven years (2000–06) of the Programme. Within Lancashire there a re nine ERPD funded schemes available of which the Rural Development Service administers seven. These are, Countryside Stewardship Scheme, Rural Enterprise Scheme, Process and Marketing Scheme, Vocational Training Scheme, Energy Crop Scheme, Organic Farm Scheme and Farm Woodland Premium Scheme.
	The Rural Payments Agency and Forestry Commission administer the Hill Farm Allowance and Woodland Grant Scheme respectively.
	To date, within Lancashire, the ERDP has funded (through RDS administered schemes) £3 million of projects and training as well as annual payments of £2.5 million to CSS agreement holders.
	The Forestry Commission as yet does not currently make specific allocations to counties, but it is moving towards regional allocations through the Regional Forestry Framework and it is envisaged that this will in turn lead to county allocations. During 2004 the Woodland Grant Scheme paid out £300,000 towards new planting and woodland management plans. Within the constituency of Chorley, the total ERDP payments for 2004 were £152,000.
	Defra will shortly launch a new scheme called Environmental Stewardship (ES). ES will be launched in England early 2005 to replace the existing agri-environment schemes (Environmentally Sensitive Areas, Countryside Stewardship and Organic Farming Schemes). ES has been developed with a high level of public consultation and a significant and much appreciated contribution from stakeholder organisations.

Footpaths

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many footpaths have been temporarily closed for over five years; for what reasons in each case; and when she expects each to be re-opened.

Alun Michael: Local highway authorities are responsible for the management of footpaths and therefore all information relating to temporary closures is held by them and not central Government. The information could be gathered only at a disproportionate cost.

Free Trade

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Solihull (Mr. Taylor) of 8 February 2005, Official Report, columns 1363–364W, on free trade, which items are included in the basket of food on which the Government bases the estimate that the cost of the Common Agricultural Policy to a family of four in the UK is in the range of £4.50 to £5.00.

Alun Michael: We estimate the consumer cost of the Common Agricultural Policy by assessing the difference between the domestic price of agricultural products and the world price of agricultural products, generally measured at the farm-gate level. This price difference is multiplied by the volume of consumption in the UK. The calculation is made for the following commodities: cereals, oilseeds, rice, sugar, milk, beef, sheep meat, pigment, poultry meat, eggs, fruit and vegetables, wine, olive oil, and tobacco.
	The cost for a notional family of four is derived from the total cost for the UK using population data.

Green Box Review

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is the Government's policy to support proposals at the World Trade Organisation for a review of the Green Box.

Alun Michael: As part of the World Trade Organisation negotiations for the current Doha Development Round, a Framework Agreement was reached in August of last year. Under this Framework agreement, all WTO members agreed that Green Box criteria should be
	"reviewed and clarified with a view to ensuring that Green Box measures have no, or at most minimal, trade-distorting effects or effects on production. Such a review and clarification will need to ensure that the basic concepts, principles and effectiveness of the Green Box remain and take due account of non-trade concerns."
	The UK Government fully supports a review on this basis.

Horse Passports

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many horse passports have been issued in London.

Alun Michael: There are no Passport Issuing Organisations based in London. Horse owners residing in London can apply to any Passport Issuing Organisation in the United Kingdom for their passports.

Parking

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent on (a) provision of parking spaces for civil servants and (b) parking tickets and penalties incurred by civil servants in the Department and its predecessors in each year since 1997.

Alun Michael: The Department was created in June 2001.
	(a) A number of buildings across the Departments estate do offer on-site car parking for civil servants and visitors as per the tenancy and rental agreement for each site. No specific records are kept that identify the cost of providing car parking.
	(b) The Department does not meet the cost of parking tickets and penalties incurred by civil servants. Civil servants are personally responsible for meeting the costs of any such fines.

Pay Television

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many pay television subscriptions the Department had in each year since 1997; and what the cost was in each year.

Alun Michael: Since Defra came into existence in May 2001, the pay television subscription costs for each financial year are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year £ 
		
		
			 2001–02 42,522 
			 2002–03 26,150 
			 2003–04 9,415 
			 2004–05 (7)— 
		
	
	(7) Figures not available. Most installations are now free view.

Rural Policy

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on progress towards modernising rural delivery within the Department's strategy.

Alun Michael: Since announcing the Rural Strategy in July 2004 we have made excellent progress. Our reforms are aimed at delivering services more efficiently, through a smaller number of organisations with clearer and more accountable roles. We are devolving delivery to give a better deal for the environment and the taxpayer and the overarching principle is sustainable development.
	Work is now under way to identify clear priorities and simple processes in each region of England. In order to explore better ways of supporting rural communities we have identified a local "rural pathfinder" for each region. We are working with these rural pathfinders to test innovative ways of improving local delivery and they are currently developing their plans. From this April, rural socio-economic funding will be mainstreamed through Rural Development Agencies with an increase of £27 million in their single pot allocation to £72 million from Defra. Rural community councils will be funded directly by Defra and some further social and community funds will be channelled through Government Offices.
	Everyone will benefit from our radical simplification of funding streams. Rural businesses are being helped by an additional £2 million that Defra has provided to Business Links this financial year.
	We are establishing a smaller, more focused body to act as a strong voice for rural people and communities, especially those facing disadvantage.
	Dr. Stuart Burgess has been appointed as the Chair of the Countryside Agency and Rural Advocate. By April 2005 the new organisation—the Commission for Rural Communities—will have been established as a distinct body, initially within the existing legal framework. It will use its statutory independent voice to hold to account those who deliver to the countryside and rural communities.
	In order to conserve and enhance the resource of nature and realise the economic benefits of so doing, we are establishing an Integrated Agency consisting of English Nature, most of the Rural Development Service and parts of the Countryside Agency. We have already initiated closer working at the regional level between these three organisations, as part of preparing for the establishment of the new Agency. We are moving the Rural Development Service out of the policy core of Defra and providing it with greater autonomy and devolved authority for decision-making and delivery, and, in order to pave the way for the Service to move into being part of the new Integrated Agency, we have appointed Poul Christensen to chair a small non executive board. From April 2005 the bodies that will make up the Integrated Agency will have begun working as a confederation of partners as a precursor to the full establishment of the Integrated Agency by legislation.
	On Thursday 10 February, we published (in draft) a Bill to implement those elements of the Rural Strategy that require primary legislation—including full establishment of the Integrated Agency and the Commission for Rural Communities.
	By April we will also have begun delivering benefits to taxpayers through beginning the process of delivering around £21 million of efficiency gains per year by 2009–10.

Targets

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many targets have been set in each year since 1997 by the Department; and, of these, which have been (a) met, (b) nearly met, (c) not met, (d) changed and (e) dropped.

Alun Michael: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 75W by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum Seekers

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to which (a) countries and (b) regions affected by the tsunami removal of failed asylum seekers has been suspended; for how long suspensions will last in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The UK is currently not enforcing the removal of failed asylum applicants to the following countries, or parts of countries:
	Sri Lanka—coastal areas of the north, east, south and south west;
	Indonesia—the province of Aceh on the island of Sumatra;
	The Maldives—affected islands;
	India—coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh and the
	Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
	This approach is in line with the UNHCR's recommendations for south-east Asia of 12 January 2005. Proposals to conduct removals to non-affected areas immediately outside of those identified above, are being reviewed sensitively and on a case by case basis. The Government do not attach a time scale to their policy to temporarily suspend enforced returns on the basis that this is being monitored and kept under active review in light of the ongoing assessment and development of the country conditions.

Commonwealth Working Holiday Scheme

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) professions allied to medicine from Commonwealth countries are working in the UK on two-year visas under the Commonwealth Working Holiday Scheme; and what assessment he has made of the effects of changing the scheme to one-year visas on recruitment in the national health service.

Des Browne: Working Holidaymakers are required to obtain entry clearance prior to coming to the United Kingdom. This allows them to take relevant employment, including as doctors, nurses and in other healthcare professions. No central record is kept by the Home Office of the numbers of working holidaymakers in each part of the workforce, including medicine and healthcare, because they do not need separate permission to work after arrival.
	After 12 months in the United Kingdom working holidaymakers are eligible for work permit employment in any of the occupations on the list of designated shortage occupations maintained by Work Permits (UK). These include doctors, nurses and other healthcare professions. Working holidaymakers were eligible to switch into these occupations after 12 months in the United Kingdom before the changes announced on 7 February. The effect of these changes on recruitment in the national health service is therefore neutral.

Crime Line

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken to answer the Crime Line in London was in the last period for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Police

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his Department's answer of 15 December 2004, Official Report, column 1182W, on police divisions, what progress he has made in ensuring that (a) Trafford police division and (b) other police divisions have a suitable place of safety as defined by the Mental Health Act 1983.

Hazel Blears: Further to my reply to the hon. Member's question of 15 December 2004, Trafford police division advises that they are meeting with representatives of the local primary health care trust on 22 February to discuss the provision of a designated place of safety in the division. The appropriate provision and location of a place of safety is a matter for local agreement between the police and the local trust.
	Home Office are continuing discussions with colleagues in the Department of Health on the potential content of codes of practice proposed under the draft Mental Health Bill. The Bill was published on 8 September 2004 by the Department of Health and is currently under scrutiny by the Joint Committee on the draft Mental Health Bill. As indicated in my previous answer, we are looking to establish the statutory position whereby police stations can be used as places of safety only as a last resort and, if used for that purpose, for a limited time period only before transfer to a more appropriate environment.

Police

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what family details are recorded on police charge sheets; and what guidance is issued to police officers on how charge sheets should be completed.

Hazel Blears: Only the detainee's name and address, and the address to which he or she will be bailed (if granted) are recorded on the charge sheet.
	The charge sheet (form MG 4) is part of the process used by members of the prosecution team, police officers and Crown Prosecutors concerned with the preparation, processing and submission of prosecution files. A copy of the form and guidance on its completion is contained in the Prosecution Team Manual of Guidance. The Manual of Guidance Editorial Board, which consists of representatives from the Home Office, ACPO, the CPS and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, is responsible for the contents of the contents of the manual. The 2004–05 edition can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/justice/legalprocess/courts/manualofguidance.html.

Police

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Chief Constable of the Essex Constabulary about plans to review police divisional boundaries in Essex; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 21 February 2005
	Deployment of police resources and the structural configuration to support policing issues is an operational matter and therefore falls firmly within the remit of the Chief Constable. This is not therefore an issue which the Secretary of State would normally involve himself.

Police

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police driving schools there were in England and Wales in each of the past 10 years; and how many police officers took (a) a standard driving course and (b) an advanced driving course in each year.

Hazel Blears: Each of the 43 police forces in England and Wales has a police driving school. It is for individual chief constables to determine which officers should undertake driving courses according to the nature of their role. Under internal police procedures and policies, officers may not operate warning equipment (e.g. blue lights) or exceed the speed limit in responding to 999 calls unless they have achieved the requisite driving standards. Police drivers may not undertake pursuits unless they have successfully completed the advanced driving course.
	Association of Chief Police Officers policy is that driving skills should be re-assessed every three to five years. In addition, line managers should review driving standards as part of the annual appraisal process.
	The available information on numbers of police officers who took a standard driving course and an advanced driving course is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Police forces/date Standard 1994–2004 Advanced 1994–2004 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset   
			 2004 116 33 
			 2003 230 59 
			 2002 102 15 
			 2001 98 35 
			 2000 82 6 
			 1999 117 0 
			 1998 139 0 
			
			 Bedfordshire   
			 2004 124 36 
			 2003 100 24 
			 2002 96 18 
			 2001 54 0 
			
			 Cambridgeshire   
			 2004 63 27 
			 2003 132 51 
			 2002 14 15 
			 2001 104 15 
			 2000 22 12 
			 1999 50 12 
			 1998 66 9 
			 1997 92 12 
			 1996 50 15 
			 1995 51 12 
			
			 Cheshire   
			 2004 117 77 
			 2003 104 53 
			 2002 78 84 
			 2001 52 54 
			 2000 52 42 
			 1999 52 43 
			 1998 78 47 
			 1997 65 77 
			 1996 78 78 
			 1995 156 60 
			 1994 182 47 
			
			 Cleveland   
			 2004 82 11 
			 2003 112 11 
			 2002 84 6 
			 2001 68 12 
			 2000 29 3 
			 1999 34 3 
			 1998 54 2 
			 1997 90 2 
			 1996 75 0 
			 1995 83 7 
			
			 Cumbria   
			 2004 95 12 
			 2003 95 18 
			 2002 95 8 
			 2001 95 10 
			 2000 95 12 
			 1999 95 12 
			 1998 95 25 
			 1997 95 12 
			 1996 95 12 
			
			 Derbyshire   
			 2004 164 60 
			 2003 95 35 
			 2002 120 51 
			 2001 116 6 
			 2000 79 30 
			 1999 75 28 
			 1998 124 44 
			 1997 91 17 
			 1996 66 16 
			 1995 54 33 
			
			 Devon and Cornwall   
			 2004 233 28 
			 2003 134 17 
			 2002 134 17 
			 2001 84 16 
			 2000 54 16 
			
			 Dorset   
			 2004 54 33 
			 2003 102 27 
			 2002 93 20 
			 2001 90 22 
			 2000 36 27 
			 1999 62 24 
			 1998 27 27 
			
			 Durham   
			 1995–2004 820 187 
			
			 Dyfed-Powys   
			 2004 108 30 
			 2003 108 30 
			 2002 54 15 
			 2001 54 15 
			 2000 54 15 
			
			 Essex   
			 2004 0 43 
			 2003 60 9 
			 2002 223 6 
			 2001 213 0 
			 2000 125 6 
			 1999 67 20 
			 1998 132 22 
			 1997 93 35 
			 1996 122 19 
			 1995 94 25 
			 1994 130 29 
			
			 Gloucestershire   
			 1994–2004 800 200 
			
			 Greater Manchester   
			 1994–2004 3,642 442 
			
			 Gwent   
			 2004 72 35 
			 2003 72 35 
			 2002 72 35 
			 2001 72 30 
			 2000 72 30 
			
			 Hampshire   
			 2004 96 48 
			 2003 69 21 
			 2002 84 42 
			 2001 75 69 
			 2000 87 54 
			 1999 72 42 
			 1998 81 24 
			
			 Hertfordshire   
			 2004 161 46 
			 2003 184 67 
			 2002 90 36 
			 2001 85 12 
			 2000 90 12 
			 1999 60 n/a 
			 1998 20 n/a 
			 1997 35 25 
			 1996 53 36 
			 1995 34 34 
			
			 Humberside   
			 2004 52 35 
			 2003 66 36 
			 2002 105 28 
			 2001 47 15 
			 2000 44 23 
			 1999 54 15 
			 1998 58 35 
			 1997 70 18 
			 1996 53 33 
			 1995 79 26 
			 Kent(8)   
			 2004 270 — 
			 2003 185 — 
			 2002 147 — 
			 2001 109 — 
			 2000 89 — 
			 1999 119 — 
			 1998 112 — 
			 1997 108 — 
			 1996 121 — 
			 1995 102 — 
			
			 Lancashire   
			 2004 181 53 
			 2003 188 34 
			 2002 176 23 
			 2001 123 43 
			 2000 49 66 
			 1999 95 65 
			 1998 184 84 
			 1997 272 92 
			 1996 198 84 
			 1995 104 148 
			
			 Leicestershire   
			 2004 135 39 
			 2003 123 51 
			 2002 120 51 
			 2001 138 45 
			 2000 138 51 
			 1999 156 51 
			 1998 81 54 
			 1997 102 21 
			 1996 114 21 
			 1995 147 27 
			 1994 138 39 
			
			 Lincolnshire   
			 2004 75 9 
			
			 London Metropolitan Police   
			 1995–2004 13,077 2,776 
			
			 London City   
			 2004 42 33 
			 2003 31 22 
			
			 Merseyside   
			 2004 177 90 
			 2003 170 101 
			 2002 165 41 
			 2001 141 78 
			 2000 151 60 
			 1999 193 57 
			 1998 157 33 
			
			 Norfolk   
			 2004 85 23 
			 2003 109 34 
			 2002 113 33 
			 2001 121 26 
			 2000 66 30 
			 1999 72 44 
			 1998 62 28 
			 1997 60 20 
			 1996 76 27 
			 1995 71 0 
			
			 Northamptonshire   
			 2004 40 20 
			 2003 40 20 
			 2002 40 20 
			
			 Northumbria   
			 2004 188 52 
			 2003 179 59 
			 2002 240 33 
			 2001 134 64 
			 2000 208 60 
			 1999 132 23 
			 1998 76 32 
			 1997 150 45 
			 1996 147 35 
			 1995 124 16 
			
			 North Wales   
			 2004 226 26 
			 2003 170 57 
			 2002 199 48 
			 2001 295 25 
			 2000 111 4 
			
			 North Yorkshire(9)   
			 2004 147 15 
			
			 Nottinghamshire   
			 2003–04 153 74 
			 2002–03 115 66 
			
			 South Wales   
			 2004 190 36 
			 2003 270 11 
			 2002 0 0 
			 2001 218 42 
			 2000 225 57 
			 1999 180 45 
			 1998 0 0 
			 1997 0 0 
			 1996 75 36 
			 1995 90 36 
			
			 South Yorkshire   
			 1999–2004 768 234 
			
			 Staffordshire   
			 2004 97 30 
			 2003 152 77 
			 2002 127 44 
			
			 Suffolk   
			 2004 79 18 
			 2003 104 38 
			 2002 118 33 
			 2001 92 33 
			 2000 58 21 
			 1999 45 13 
			 1998 49 17 
			 1997 50 11 
			 1996 55 3 
			 1995 52 7 
			
			 Surrey   
			 2004 180 40 
			 2003 160 40 
			 2002 160 40 
			 2001 200 30 
			 2000 180 30 
			 1999 150 30 
			
			 Sussex   
			 2004 150 33 
			 2003 114 21 
			 2002 144 33 
			 2001 82 24 
			
			 Thames Valley   
			 2004 400 79 
			 2003 525 63 
			 2002 452 66 
			 2001 342 69 
			 2000 192 68 
			
			 Warwickshire   
			 2004 45 16 
			 2003 105 10 
			 2002 70 — 
			 2001 70 — 
			 2000 70 — 
			
			 West Mercia   
			 2004 150 78 
			 1995–2003 825 430 
			
			 West Midlands   
			 2004 400 67 
			 2003 400 50 
			 2002 400 43 
			 2001 400 30 
			 2000 n/a 30 
			 1999 n/a 85 
			 1998 n/a 97 
			 1997 n/a 220 
			 1996 n/a 211 
			 1995 n/a 138 
			
			 West Yorkshire   
			 1995–2005 320 200 
			
			 Wiltshire   
			 2004 60 12 
			 2003 60 12 
		
	
	(8) Total amount for standard and advanced.
	(9) Only 2004 figures available.

Police

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which department of the Prison Service advises prisons on producing information booklets for prisoners; whether the distribution of information booklets in prisons is monitored; and what guidelines have been issued concerning what information should be provided for prisoners (a) on reception and induction into prison and (b) prior to release.

Paul Goggins: The What Works in Prison Unit at Prison Service headquarters is responsible for the four centrally produced prisoners' information books, published in collaboration with the Prison Reform Trust. Their distribution is not monitored centrally; prisons order the books direct from Prison Service Enterprise and Supply Services, who also arrange printing. The production of local information books is left to the discretion of individual prisons and is not centrally monitored. Establishments can call upon policy leads at Prison Service headquarters for advice on specific topics. The guidance provided in Prison Service Order (PSO) 0550 on reception, PSO 0550 on prisoner induction and PSO 2300 on resettlement, which are published on the Prison Service website. Audit arrangements apply through standards based on the PSOs.

Police

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department is taking to increase the amount of purposeful activity available for prisoners.

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service is committed to increasing the provision of quality purposeful activity for prisoners. Through the Custody to Work initiative, an investment of over £14 million per annum is being provided to expand the initiatives that have a positive impact on reducing re-offending and contribute to purposeful activity.
	This money is being used to develop the following purposeful activities across the prison estate: more accredited skills training in sectors with realistic job opportunities for released prisoners (such as construction, utilities, catering, industrial cleaning, warehousing and transport); job-search training and support; through-the-gate job placement; education and housing advice and support services.
	Prison Industries occupy prisoners in out-of-cell activity and wherever possible help them gain skills, qualifications and work experience to improve their employment prospects on release. Over £4 million has been invested in industrial workshops over the past two years to help develop quality purposeful activities.

Race Relations (Amendment) Act

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many NHS trusts have (a) complied with their statutory duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, (b) published a race equality scheme and action plan and (c) carried out race impact assessments.

John Hutton: I have been asked to reply.
	Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) have performance management responsibility for NHS Trusts. Information on local race equality schemes and action plans, as well as race impact assessments can be obtained from SHAs.
	To make sure that race equality is integral to delivering health services, four SHA chief executives in partnership with the Department and the Commission for Racial Equality developed a framework to assist national health service organisations measure for themselves their progress in promoting race equality within the health service. This guide can be accessed at (http://www.cre.gov.uk/pdfs.sha_race__equality_guide.pdf).
	To ensure compliance with the legislation, the Department will be offering advice and support to NHS organisations in developing their new schemes. The Chief Executive Bulletin Issue 249, December 2004, included a reminder to all NHS organisations of the requirement to produce race equality schemes by 31 May 2005.

Royal Parks Constabulary

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what mechanisms the Royal Parks Constabulary staff pay and conditions will be protected if they transfer to the Metropolitan Police Service as proposed in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill.

Richard Caborn: I have been asked to reply.
	The key elements of the proposed transfer arrangements, which have been the subject of consultation with members of the Royal Parks Constabulary (RPC) and their union representatives, are as follows.
	RPC pay rates are pegged at 85.5 per cent. of MPS rates; officers transferring to the MPS as constables will therefore immediately benefit from a higher rate of pay, as well as the much improved career prospects which the MPS is able to offer. Their length of service and rank will be recognised, and they will have the opportunity to remain in the Royal Parks Operational Command Unit for a maximum of 10 years. If an officer is ineligible, or chooses not to transfer as a constable but wishes to transfer as a Community Support Officer or member of police staff, then the MPS have agreed to maintain their rate of pay on a mark time basis for three years. If officers are ineligible to become MPS officers they will also have the option of redundancy, though we hope that few will be in this position.
	As civil servants, RPC officers are currently in the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), whereas MPS officers are in the Police Pension Scheme (PPS). Officers transferring have the option of freezing their benefits in the PCSPS or transferring them to the PPS. We have worked very closely with the Government Actuary's Department on the arrangements for pensions transfers from the one to the other which are designed with the aim of providing at the time of retirement from the MPS a retirement package which will be at least as good as if they had remained in the PCSPS and retired at the same age.
	The current retirement age for RPC officers is 60, subject to continuing satisfactory health, conduct and performance. For MPS officers the retirement age is 55, but the maximum retirement age is also 60, subject to application for, and annual approval of, extension of service. Annual extensions take into account health, conduct and efficiency, and the continuing requirement for the role. So RPC officers transferring will, subject to these requirements, have the opportunity to continue until 60.
	The Police Act 1996 allows any person who was a member of a trade union immediately before joining a force to retain membership of that union with the consent of the Chief Officer. I understand that all requests from officers to retain union membership after their transfer to the MPS have been approved, and I see no reason why future requests should not also be approved.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Football

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions Ministers have had with the Football Association on the scheduling of local derby football matches.

Richard Caborn: None.
	The scheduling of football matches is a matter for the Football Association to decide in consultation with local police.
	In the light of the events that took place during the matches at Everton and Burnley last weekend, I understand that the Football Association plans to review the scheduling of matches with the police and broadcasters in advance of the next round of the FA Cup.

Ministerial Engagements

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the ministerial engagements (a) out of London and (b) in London that she has cancelled since 1 January 2004.

Tessa Jowell: The information requested is listed as follows.
	
		Secretary of State's ministerial engagements out of London that were cancelled and not rearranged 1 January 2004–17 January 2005
		
			 Date Engagement 
		
		
			 2 July 2004 Visit—Bath University 
			 13 October 2004 Visit—Wilmslow High School 
			 25 October 2004 Dinner—Warwick Business School 
			 10 November 2004 NW Regional Public Health Culture and Health Think Tank, Liverpool 
		
	
	
		Secretary of State's ministerial engagements in London that were cancelled and not rearranged 1 January 2004–17 January 2005
		
			 Date Engagement 
		
		
			 9 January 2004 ExCel Exhibition Centre 
			 28 January 2004 Delegation of theatre practitioners, House of Commons 
			 28 January 2004 NOF Veterans Launch, Cabinet War Rooms 
			 15 February 2004 BAFTA Film Awards, Odeon, Leicester Square 
			 27 February 2004 FIFA Dinner, Wallace Collection 
			 5 March 2004 Irish Rugby Reception, Irish Embassy, Grosvenor Place 
			 31 March 2004 Parent Friendly Awards, Central London 
			 7 April 2004 IPPR Dinner Public Interest Companies and Arts Regeneration, London 
			 26 May 2004 "Reaching Out" Reception, Science Museum 
			 8 June 2004 Visit—National Opera Studio, Wandsworth 
			 1 October 2004 The Arts in America, Europe and Russia Conference, Spencer House 
			 11 October 2004 Women of the Year Lunch and Assembly, The Savoy 
			 20 October 2004 Visit—National Opera Studio, Wandsworth 
			 9 November 2004 Dinner hosted by Adrian Friend—TAS scholarships, London 
			 30 November 2004 Marketing Power 100—Women's Dinner, Wiltons, Jermyn Street

Staff Surveys

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr. Osborne), 4 February 2005, Official Report, columns 1162–63W, on staff surveys, if she will place in the Library copies of the staff surveys conducted by her Department since 1997.

Richard Caborn: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has conducted three staff surveys since 1997—in 2000, 2001 and 2003—and I am arranging for copies of each of the survey reports to be been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Targets

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many targets have been set in each year since 1997 by the Department; and, of these, which have been (a) met, (b) nearly met, (c) not met, (d) changed and (e) dropped.

Richard Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 75W.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Building Regulations

David Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list organisations registered to provide competent person self-certification schemes for the purposes of compliance with Part P of the Building Regulations.

Phil Hope: The following organisations are authorised to operate competent person self-certification schemes for the purposes of compliance with Part P of the Building Regulations regarding the installation of fixed low or extra-low voltage electrical installations
	BRE Certification Ltd.
	British Standards Institution
	ELECSA Ltd.
	NAPIT Certification Ltd.
	NICEIC Certification Services Ltd.
	The following organisations are registered to provide competent person self-certification schemes for the installation of fixed low or extra-low voltage electrical installations as a necessary adjunct to or arising out of other work being carried out:
	CORGI Services Ltd.
	ELECSA Ltd.
	NAPIT Certification Ltd.
	NICEIC Certification Services Ltd.
	Oil Firing Technical Association for the Petroleum Industry Ltd.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the Minister of State for Housing and Planning expects to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 11 January.

Keith Hill: I replied to the hon. Member on 23 February.

Empty Dwellings

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many empty dwellings there have been in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley in each of the last three years.

Keith Hill: The requested information is tabled as follows:
	
		Total number of vacant dwellings at 1 April, 2002–04
		
			  2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Lancashire 23,022 22,128 19,691 
			 Chorley 1,067 1,280 1,301 
		
	
	Source:
	ODPM Housing Strategy Statistical Appendices return and Housing Corporation Regulatory and Statistical Return.

Empty Dwellings

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what average length of time (a) council and (b) housing association properties were empty in the last period for which figures are available.

Keith Hill: No data are available to calculate the exact average length of time a council or a housing association property is vacant. However, figures for various vacant periods are available and are tabled as follows:
	
		
			  Local authorities Registered social landlords 
			 Length of vacant at 1 April 2004 Number of dwellings Number of dwellings/bedspaces 
		
		
			 Three weeks or less 12,200 9,100 
			 Between three weeks and six weeks 8,900 6,000 
			 Between six weeks and six months 15,700 11,200 
			 Between six months and one year 6,500 5,800 
			 Over one year 14,200 12,600 
			 Total 57,500 44,700 
		
	
	Source:
	ODPM Business Plan Statistical Appendices Annual Monitoring return and Housing Corporation Regulatory and Statistical Return

Empty Dwellings

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) interim and (b) final empty property management orders have been issued in London since the Housing Act 2004 entered into force, broken down by local authority.

Keith Hill: No interim or final empty dwelling management orders have been made since the Housing Act 2004 received Royal Assent as the provisions have not yet been commenced.
	It is currently the intention of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to commence the provisions on empty dwelling management orders in October 2005 following public consultation and the making of secondary legislation.

Green Flag Award

Don Foster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister in respect of how many parks and green spaces (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications were made for the Green Flag Award scheme in each year since 1997; and how many parks and green spaces there are in England.

Phil Hope: The number of Green Flag Award successful and unsuccessful applicants since the Scheme's inception in 1997 are:
	
		
			  Number of: 
			  successful applicants unsuccessful applicants 
		
		
			 1997–98 7 9 
			 1998–99 16 7 
			 1999–2000 35 11 
			 2000–01 55 24 
			 2001–02 81 21 
			 2002–03 122 49 
			 2003–04 177 57 
			 2004–05 245 63 
		
	
	An estimate of the total number of parks and green spaces in England was made in the "Public Parks Assessment" (May 2001), which suggested there were 27,000 parks covering 143,000 hectares.

Mobile Phone Base Stations

Howard Stoate: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make low-height base stations with wall-mounted antennae subject to normal planning and public consultation requirements; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The permitted development rights for electronic communications code system operators are set out in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (England) Order 2001 (SI 2001 No. 2718). These permit some wall mounted antenna and exclude others. Those excluded will require planning permission.

Mobile Phone Base Stations

Howard Stoate: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will subject the planning process associated with the erection of mobile phone base stations to independent review as recommended by the National Radiological Protection Board Report, "Mobile Phones and Health 2004".

Yvette Cooper: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Glenda Jackson) on 18 January 2005, Official Report, column 869W.

Sickness Absence

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what initiatives his Department is taking to reduce the numbers of sick days taken by staff in the Department.

Yvette Cooper: Sickness absence is managed as part of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's objective of continually seeking ways to improve the health and welfare of its staff in a sensitive and supportive way. While recognising that staff should return to work only when they are fit and ready to do so, we are committed to managing sickness absence effectively.
	To improve the effective management of sickness absence in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, we are improving the mechanism used for collecting, analysing and monitoring sickness absences. Workshops for staff have commenced so that they can better understand the sickness absence procedures. In addition, we will promulgate the recommendations identified by the Ministerial Taskforce in their "Managing Attendance in the Public Sector Delivery Plan". A copy of the report can be found at www.hse-databases.co.uk/gse/sickness.pdf

HEALTH

Bedside Telephones (Charges)

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the rates of telephone charges for patients using bedside telephones in NHS hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Bedside television and telephone services are now provided at around 75,000 beds in 155 national health service hospitals. Typically, the cost for an outgoing call made by the patient from the bedside is around 10 pence per minute (minimum 20 pence).

Crohn's Disease (Children)

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in England are diagnosed as suffering from Crohn's disease; what treatment provision is available to them; and what the average cost of treatment is per child.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on the numbers of children diagnosed with Crohn's disease and the average cost of treatment is not available. There were 2,491 admissions involving children and young people up to the age of 18 with a primary diagnosis of Crohn's disease to hospitals in England in 2003–04. Most patients will be treated with drugs, including steroids, to reduce inflammation or by means of special liquid feeds to rest the bowel. Surgery may be required to remove narrowed or damaged parts of the intestine. The cost of treatment will vary according to the severity of the condition and any complications. Examples of costs of selected hospital inpatient elective treatments for people with Crohn's disease are shown in the table.
	
		Primary diagnosis of Crohn's disease: examples of costs and numbers
		
			 Healthcare resource group National average cost per elective (£) Number of in-patient finished admission episodes (all ages) Number of in-patient finished admission episodes (0–18 years) 
		
		
			 P12—Major gastrointestinal or metabolic disorders 1,815 1,540 1,540 
			 F54—Inflammatory bowel disease—endoscopic or intermediate procedures in people under age 70 without complications 1,068 4,888 392 
			 F06—Diagnostic procedures; oesophagus and stomach 605 362 151 
			 F56—Inflammatory bowel disease in people under age 70 without complications 1,079 7,126 99 
			 F32—Large intestine—very major procedures 4,587 789 74 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	2. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	3. The main operation is the first recorded operation in the HES data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main operation when looking at admission details, e.g., time waited, but the figures for "all operations count of episodes" give a more complete count of episodes with an operation.
	4. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	5. Healthcare resource groups (HRGs)—it should be noted that there may be many OPCS/ICD codes that map to a single HRG (a category into which similar treatments are grouped) and these are the national average costs at HRG level—they are not the costs of the individual codes within the HRG, so the actual costs of such OPCS codes, etc. may differ from those detailed.
	Sources:
	Finished admission episodes: HES, Department of Health.
	National average costs: Reference Costs 2003 [relating to the financial year 2002–03] for activity undertaken by national health service trusts in England, for NHS patients.

Deep Vein Thrombosis

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many in-patient admissions there were for deep vein thrombosis in drug addicts in (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004, broken down by hospital.

Melanie Johnson: Information showing the total number of finished admissions to national health service trust hospitals in England during 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04, where deep vein thrombosis was the primary diagnosis and where drug addiction was mentioned, has been placed in the Library.

Dorset and Somerset Strategic Health Authority

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much money each primary care trust in the Dorset and Somerset Strategic Health Authority area has received for helping general practitioner surgeries to (a) expand, (b) build new surgeries and (c) renovate outdated buildings in each of the last four years; and what the budgets are for the coming financial year;
	(2)  how much money the Dorset and Somerset Strategic Health Area (a) has received and (b) is due to receive under the Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) Scheme, broken down by primary care trust;
	(3)  how much of the 2004–05 Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) allocation to Dorset and Somerset Strategic Health Authority has been spent, broken down by primary care trust.

Rosie Winterton: There are presently no national health service local investment finance trust (LIFT) schemes or private finance initiative (PFI) activity related to general practitioner premises improvements in the Dorset and Somerset Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area. Dorset and premises improvements in the Dorset and Somerset Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area. Dorset and Somerset SHA has advised that it received no applications from local primary care trusts for the fourth wave of LIFT schemes.

Free Eye Tests (Leicester, South)

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many free eye tests for pensioners there have been in Leicester, South in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: Figures for the number of sight tests by constituency or by pensioners are not collected centrally.
	The table shows the number of national health service sight tests paid by the Leicestershire health authority (HA) for the years ending 31 March 2000 to 2003, and the six primary care trusts (PCTs) covering the old Leicestershire HA for the year ending 31 March 2004.
	
		General ophthalmic services: number of sight tests paid by Leicestershire HA for patients aged 60 and over for the years ending 31 March 2000–04
		
			  HA/PCT name Number of sight tests for aged 60 and over (Thousands) 
		
		
			 1999–2000 Leicestershire HA 53.9 
			 2000–01 Leicestershire HA 69.4 
			 2001–02 Leicestershire HA 75.1 
			 2002–03 Leicestershire HA 76.1 
			
			 2003–04 Melton, Rutland and Harborough PCT 10.9 
			  Leicester City West PCT 6.8 
			  Hinckley and Bosworth PCT 7.0 
			  Charnwood and North West Leicestershire PCT 22.9 
			  Eastern Leicester PCT 18.3 
			  South Leicestershire PCT 15. 9 
			
			  Total 81.8 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Eligibility for NHS sight tests was extended to patients aged 60 and over from 1 April 1999.
	2. PCTs took over responsibilities from HAs in October 2002.

MRSA

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the incidence of MRSA in hospitals in Sussex.

Rosie Winterton: There have been 262 reports of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia by trusts in Sussex from April 2003 to March 2004.
	It is for primary care trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to meet national and local priorities for improving health, and modernising services, including reducing hospital infections.
	I am advised that acute trusts in Sussex are working hard to reduce the incidence of MRSA and have clear policies and strategies in place to help them achieve this.

Nurses' Uniforms

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS trust nurses' uniforms were (a) laundered at home and (b) cleaned under (i) commercial contract and (ii) in-house arrangements in the most recent period for which figures are available.

John Hutton: Information relating to the proportion of nurses' uniforms that are laundered at home or under contract arrangements is not collected centrally.

Primary Care Trusts

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of running primary care trusts was in the most recent year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Latest available figures show that, for the 164 primary care trusts established in 2001–02, administration costs totalled £490,075,000.

Shipman Inquiry

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of each stage of the Shipman Inquiry, broken down by main budget headings; and what the cost was of legal fees paid to each party represented.

John Hutton: It is not possible to provide details of the cost of each stage of the Shipman Inquiry, but expenditure for the Inquiry as a whole up to the end of January 2005 is shown in the tables.
	
		£ thousand
		
			 Shipman Inquiry expenditure (to 31 January 2005) Amount 
		
		
			 Chairman costs including clerk, expenses 79 
			 Legal costs including inquiry legal team, agents, represented parties, other legal costs, experts, witnesses/search/research costs 10,623 
			 Communications including printing/other media, website, public relations, subscriptions, publications 1,185 
			 Facilities including fixtures and fittings, rental, maintenance, copier rental, hospitality 2,370 
			 Information technology including project management, hardware, installations, technical support, legal document management, telecoms 6,231 
			 Other administrative costs 436 
			 Information technology including project management, hardware, installations, technical support, legal document management, telecoms 6,231 
			 Other administrative costs including postage/courier, security, other admin costs 436 
			 Staff costs 1,867 
			 VAT refunds (2,013) 
			 Total 20,778 
		
	
	The legal fees of the represented parties funded from the inquiry's budget are shown in the following table.
	
		£ thousand
		
			 Legal fees of represented parties funded by Shipman Inquiry (to 31 January 2005) Amount 
		
		
			 Tameside Families Support Group 2,159 
			 Detective Inspector David Smith 126.5 
			 Mr. Alan Massey, funeral director 27 
			 Mrs. Primrose Shipman 35 
			 Market Street surgery staff 28.5 
			 Dr. Alan Banks, Medical Adviser, West Pennine health authority 19.5 
			 Tameside Register Office staff 15 
			 Mrs. Christine Whitworth, executor of victim 0.4 
			 Dr. Michael Overton, relative of victim 0.3 
			 Mrs. Janet Schofield, housing manager at sheltered housing complex 1.4 
			 Mrs. Ghislaine Brandt and Mr. Peter Rothman, Market Street pharmacy 3.5 
			 Total 2,416.1

SCOTLAND

Congestion Charge

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much has been spent on congestion (a) charges and (b) penalty charge notices by the Department since the commencement of the congestion charging scheme.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office has incurred no expenditure on congestion charges or penalty charge notices. Costs incurred by vehicles provided by the Government Car Service (GCS) to the Scotland Office are paid by the GCS. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 10 January 2005, Official Report, columns 89–90W.

Departmental Spending

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07, and (c) 2007–08; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 2 February 2005, Official Report, column 910W.

Regional Assistance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received about mismanagement of EU regional development grants; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Neither the Secretary of State nor I has received any such representations.

Regional Assistance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what procedures are in place in his Department to ensure that EU regional development grants are used in accordance with European Commission rules.

Anne McGuire: European Structural Funds programmes are required to operate in accordance with European Commission Regulations. The Scotland Office does not have oversight of any such programmes.

Freedom of Information

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his policy is in respect of the publication (a) on the departmental website and (b) by placing copies in the Library of (i) all or (ii) a selection of the information disclosed in response to Freedom of Information requests since January.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office will place copies of information released under Freedom of Information, where considered appropriate in terms of the wider public interest, on the departmental website where this is believed to be the most suitable method for publication. In some instances, it may be necessary to direct interested individuals to other locations providing reasonable access to published material.
	This corresponds with earlier guidance on publication schemes, issued by the Department for Constitutional Affairs in July 2002, which recommended that where information is disclosed to an individual in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, Departments and NDPBs should consider whether the information disclosed is of general interest and include released information in the publication scheme where appropriate.

G8 Summit (Gleneagles)

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to be able to estimate the cost to public funds of the G8 summit at Gleneagles in July.

Anne McGuire: Discussions on the detailed arrangements for the summit, including resource matters, are continuing between the relevant authorities. However, as I indicated in my reply of 20 January 2005, Official Report, column 1060W, it is not customary to disclose the security costs for such events.

Mobile Phones

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost of staff mobile phone bills was in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Details on the cost of mobile phones used by staff are not recorded separately.

Targets

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many targets have been set in each year since 1997 by the Department; and, of these, which have been (a) met, (b) nearly met, (c) not met, (d) changed and (e) dropped.

Anne McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the recent answer given by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 75W.

CABINET OFFICE

Catering Costs

George Osborne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much has been spent on (a) entertainment lunches involving civil servants and guests and (b) working lunches, in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: Information breaking down the expenditure by the categories requested cannot be readily retrieved without incurring disproportionate cost.
	For details of the Cabinet Office spend on entertainment in each year since 1997, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 88W.

"Delivering on the Promise"

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the total cost was of the "Delivering on the Promise" technology programme.

David Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Allan) on 16 November 2004, Official Report, column 1237W.

"Delivering on the Promise"

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the discontinuation of the DotP technology programme and the decision to switch to a commercially available off-the-shelf system.

David Miliband: The DotP application is a content management software product. Since the original development of DotP the software market has matured and there may now be commercial-off-the-shelf products to which DotP could transition, so that it continues to deliver the strategic benefit and best value for money always envisaged by the DotP Programme. This is being considered and Government are still retaining all of their options.

Equal Pay Review

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the most recent equal pay review conducted by his Department included comparisons of (a) ethnic groups, (b) disabled and able-bodied employees and (c) part-time and full-time employees.

David Miliband: The Cabinet Office (CO), Central Office of Information (COI) and Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) all operate their own delegated pay systems and therefore completed individual equal pay audits in 2003. Copies of the reviews are available in the Library of the House.
	The approach and level of detail varied reflecting the size of the organisation and the issues they needed to address. The CO review covered gender, ethnicity, staff with disabilities and working patterns. COI covered gender, ethnicity and working patterns and the GCDA review focused on gender.

Sickness Absence

Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what initiatives his Department is taking to reduce the numbers of sick days taken by staff in the Department.

David Miliband: The Cabinet Office is committed to managing sick absence effectively, having implemented all recommendations of the 1998 report "Working Well Together". These are supported by robust monitoring procedures and in-house guidance and training for managers and individuals. In support of the 2004 report "Managing Sick Absence in the Public Sector", the Cabinet Office will ensure that managers proactively monitor sick absence and that they have the tools and training to do so.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Community Interest Companies

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress she is making in defining the structure of proposed community interest companies; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 21 February 2005
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 1 February 2005, Official Report, columns 798–99W.

Employment Rights

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on changes in employment rights since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Since 1997, we have introduced a foundation of decent minimum standards in the workplace. People at work in Britain have benefited from:
	a minimum wage
	a right not to work more than 48 hours a week
	four weeks' paid leave
	a discipline and grievance procedure (and to be accompanied by a Trade Union official)
	a right to no discrimination on grounds of religion, belief or sexual orientation
	a right to membership of a trade union
	a right to trade union recognition for collective bargaining in specified circumstances
	equal treatment for part-time and fixed-term employees compared with their full-time colleagues
	protection for public interest disclosure (whistleblowers)
	paternity leave, adoption leave, parental leave and time off for domestic emergencies
	a right to request flexible working with an obligation on employers to treat the request seriously (for parents of children up to six)
	Maternity leave increased from 16 weeks' paid leave at £60 in 1997 to 26 weeks paid at £100 or more.
	In addition, from April 2005 employees will gain new rights to request information and consultation.
	The improvements we have made to employment rights have not adversely affected the labour market, which is performing well. We have proved that regulation, providing it is well designed and well implemented, is not an obstacle to high employment or running businesses successfully.
	The Government are committed to ensuring that employment rights are effectively implemented in all workplaces, so that they benefit all workers, including the most vulnerable.
	In the 2004 pre-Budget report, we pledged improvements to the arrangements for parents to take paid leave after the birth of a child and to extend rights to work flexibly. We are committed to consulting with employers and other interested parties early this year.

Nordic Customs Union

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the operation of the Nordic Customs Union in relation to the proposed restrictions on Norwegian imports of salmon into the EU.

Douglas Alexander: None, the Nordic Customs Union does not exist. The provisions of the European Economic Area apply to the movement of goods between Norway and member states of the European Union.

Parental Leave

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes to paternity and maternity leave have been introduced since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In 1999 we extended maternity leave for all employed women from 14 weeks to 18 weeks. The qualifying service for additional maternity leave was reduced to one year. Previously qualifying service was two years for women working at least 16 hours per week or five years for women working between eight and sixteen hours per week.
	Leave was further simplified and extended in April 2003. All employed women are now entitled to 26 weeks' ordinary maternity leave. Women with six months qualifying service are able to take a further 26 weeks' additional maternity leave.
	The right to paid paternity leave was introduced in April 2003. Eligible fathers can choose to take one or two weeks' paternity leave in the first eight weeks after their child is born.

Regional Development Agencies

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the estimated Government expenditure by regional development agencies is expected to be in 2004–05; and what expenditure is projected for 2005–06.

Jacqui Smith: I have set out in the following table the planned expenditure by each of England's nine Regional Development Agencies in 2004–05 and their indicative allocations for 2005–06.
	
		£ million
		
			  2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Advantage West Midlands 235 272 
			 East of England Development Agency 91 129 
			 East Midlands Development Agency 138 156 
			 London Development Agency 327 373 
			 North West Development Agency 226 382 
			 One North East 365 240 
			 South East of England Development Agency 128 157 
			 South West of England Development Agency 111 153 
			 Yorkshire Forward 284 295 
			 Total(10) 1,905 2,157 
		
	
	(10) The RDA budget for 2005–06 following SR2004 was £2.163 billion. That figure excluded £21 million non-cash cost provision. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has since changed the profile of their contribution to RDAs so that the RDAs overall allocations is reduced by £26 million in 2005–06 and increased by £14 million in 2006–07 and £12 million 2007–08.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Appointments

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to his Answer of 9 February to Question reference 215189, if he will break down the figures provided in tables 1A, 1B and 2 by gender.

David Lammy: The breakdown of the figures provided in the answer on 9 February 2005, Official Report, column 1609W (and in my pursuant answer yesterday) are detailed in the following tables.
	Tables 1A and 1B show full-time appointments for the calendar years 1975–97. The figures include appointments of Judicial officers to full time Tribunal posts for Tribunals administered by DCA (formerly Lord Chancellor's Department) but exclude those administered by other Government Departments (such as the Employment Tribunal and The Appeal Service and its pre 1999 predecessor The Independent Tribunal Service). These tables also include lay magistrates appointments from 1990 onwards.
	Figures for the appointment and the gender split of part time judicial officers between 1975 and 1997, and for lay magistrates prior to 1990 is not given, as DCA does not hold complete figures on the appointment and gender of these judicial officers who were appointed during these periods, and those that exist could only be determined at disproportionate cost.
	The gender split for full-time and part-time judicial officer appointments for each year between 1998–2004 is set out in tables 2A-D. These figures are obtained from the Judicial Appointments Annual Reports to Parliament for each of the financial years from 1998–2004.
	It is also necessary to mention that while every care has been taken, the figures supplied for the years 1975–98 may not be wholly complete as they are drawn from very old records. For some of the very early appointments, the DCA have only a surname and initials thus it is not absolutely certain what the gender was, and in these cases, on the basis that there were very few women in the judiciary that long ago, it has been assumed that they are men.
	
		Table 1A: 1975–84 full-time appointments
		
			  Male Female Total 
		
		
			 1975–97 full-time appointments gender split 
			 1975 44 1 45 
			 1976 45 1 46 
			 1977 41 2 43 
			 1978 54 3 57 
			 1979 36 3 39 
			 1980 62 3 65 
			 1981 39 2 41 
			 1982 50 3 53 
			 1983 47 1 48 
			 1984 61 1 62 
		
	
	
		Table 1B: 1985–94 full-time and lay magistrates appointments
		
			  Male Female Total 
		
		
			 1985 50 3 53 
			 1986 78 4 82 
			 1987 52 2 54 
			 1988 59 1 60 
			 1989 49 5 54 
			 1990 49 6 55 
			 1991 85 7 92 
			 1992 105 15 120 
			 1993 112 15 127 
			 1994 76 15 91 
			 1995 93 17 110 
			 1996 91 9 100 
			 1997 55 11 66 
			 
			 Lay magistrates 
			 1985 n/a n/a — 
			 1986 n/a n/a — 
			 1987 n/a n/a — 
			 1988 n/a n/a — 
			 1989 n/a n/a — 
			 1990 996 1,063 2,059 
			 1991 1,008 1,009 2,017 
			 1992 1,080 990 2,070 
			 1993 1,045 1,017 2,062 
			 1994 810 783 1,593 
			 1995 907 936 1,843 
			 1996 830 852 1,682 
			 1997 764 809 1,573 
		
	
	
		Tables 2A-D 1998–99 to 2003–04 full-time, part-time (fee paid) and lay magistrates appointments
		
			  1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Table 2A: full-time appointments gender split 
			 Male 118 74 155 94 125 95 
			 Female 30 21 43 31 31 31 
			 Total 148 95 198 125 156 126 
			
			 Table 2B: part-time appointments gender split 
			 Male 367 264 390 507 358 227 
			 Female 119 105 165 283 183 127 
			 Total 486 369 555 790 541 354 
			
			 Table 2C: Lord Chancellor lay magistrates appointments (excluding Duchy of Lancaster) 
			 Male 654 692 703 763 714 777 
			 Female 624 731 663 711 696 701 
			 Total 1,278 1,423 1,366 1,474 1,410 1,478 
			
			 Table 2D: lay magistrates appointments in the Duchy of Lancaster 
			 Male n/a n/a 132 164 124 152 
			 Female n/a n/a 120 148 89 128 
			 Total — — 252 312 213 280

Parental Contact Orders

Theresa May: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2005, Official Report, column 568W, on parental contract orders, how many of the 67,184 cases of disputed contact dealt with by the courts in 2003 were related to previous contact orders made in the same year.

David Lammy: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, I would refer the right hon. Member to the Consultation Paper "Relationship Breakdown: Children's Needs and Parent's Responsibilities" (page14) where it confirms that "in just over half of the 300 cases surveyed as part of my Department Consumer Strategy work, there was at least one repeat application". It should be noted that this figure was, however, based on a limited sample in three courts and was just a snapshot at one point in time (the survey was carried out during February 2004). It is not known how many of the repeat orders related to previous orders in the same year.
	It is important to note that not all repeat applications indicate conflict. It is common for orders to be revised to recognise a geographical move, change in working hours, or children getting older and needing different arrangements.

DEFENCE

A400M

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the A400M.

Adam Ingram: A contract for the development and production of the A400M aircraft was signed with Airbus Military on 27 May 2003 by the Organisation for Joint Armaments Co-operation on behalf of the participating nations (Germany, France, Turkey, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom). The contract milestones are being achieved, and as previously announced, on 16 December 2003, Official Report, column 839W the aircraft's planned In-Service Date for UK is 2011.

Aircraft

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money has been spent on aircraft research by his Department in (a) Lancashire and (b) the North West since 1997.

Adam Ingram: We recognise the importance of the aerospace industry in the North West, both to the Ministry of Defence and the wider economy. We have not placed any 'research' contracts with companies in the North West region but as my hon. Friend will be aware, the Ministry of Defence places a considerable volume of work with companies in the region on both new programmes and support for in-service aircraft. Much of the work on new programmes is classified as 'development', however, details on money spent on such programmes is not held centrally, and therefore could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Assault Cases

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of out-of-court settlements for assault cases involving members of the armed forces has been in the last 12 months; and how many cases this represents.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence has paid compensation of £269,218 during the past 12 months in 15 out of court settlements for assault cases involving members of HM forces on the basis of the Department's primary or vicarious liability.

BAE

John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value was of the enabling contract for the Harrier Joint Upgrade and Maintenance Programme awarded to BAE Systems on 15 November 2004.

Adam Ingram: £20.7 million.

BAE

John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Harrier GR7s are being upgraded at BAE Warton; and at what cost.

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely costs of (a) upgrading and (b) servicing fast jets at BAE Warton.

Adam Ingram: At present nine Harrier aircraft are being modified at Warton. Three aircraft have already completed their modification. The 12 Harrier aircraft are being upgraded for a total cost of some £33 million (VAT exclusive).
	Planned upgrades to bring all Tranche 1 Typhoon aircraft to the same standard are included in the production contract price. The majority of this work is likely to be carried out at BAE Warton. Subsequent upgrades have yet to be defined and costed.

Correspondence

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of letters sent in the current Parliament by defence Ministers to hon. Members following undertakings given in debates on the floor of the House, in Westminster Hall and in Standing Committee.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence endeavours to routinely place copies of such letters in the Library of the House. Confirmation that this had been done in every instance since June 2001 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Counter-Mobility Capability

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on British counter-mobility capability; what progress has been made on the Mines in the Next Century project; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The counter-mobility capability for the British Army is currently provided by the Shielder scatterable mine system and the Barmine anti-tank mine. We are currently considering how the capability can be provided in future through the Future Counter Mobility Capability programme which draws together the requirements of the Mines in the Next Century programme, and a number of other counter-mobility programmes. This work is in its concept phase.

Future Surface Combatant

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the reasons were for the cancellation of the Future Surface Combatant project.

Adam Ingram: The Future Surface Combatant (FSC) programme has not been cancelled. Some of the assumptions associated with this project, which is still at the concept stage, have changed as a result of the MOD's recent planning rounds. As a result, it was decided to disband the FSC Integrated Project Team and transfer the programme to the DPA Future Business Group.

Landing Ship Logistics

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the original agreed contract price in relation to the contract with Swan Hunter (Tyneside) for the construction of Landing Ship Logistics (LSL) Largs Bay and Lyme Bay was; what the latest anticipated cost is; how much BAE Systems will be able to claim from the Department by reason of the failure of Swan Hunter to deliver design information to BAE Systems in relation to the two LSLs that that company is to build; whether his Department will claim from Swan Hunter in respect of its lateness in delivering design information on the LSLs; and which party under the terms of the original Swan Hunter contract undertook to accept the risk of the engineering requirements being greater than anticipated.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 21 February 2005
	The original contract price for the design and construction cost of the two Swan Hunter Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary) ships, Largs Bay and Lyme Bay, was £148 million and the anticipated cost is now £235 million. The Ministry of Defence has made a provision of £40 million in the 2003–04 Accounts for delay and dislocation costs in respect to the two LSD(A)s that BAE Systems are building and has already paid £16 million as an initial payment. Negotiations continue on the final settlement figure with the company. As further disclosure could prejudice these negotiations I am withholding further information under the commercial interests exemption of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The MOD will not be pursuing a claim from Swan Hunter in respect of providing information to BAE Systems as this would seriously jeopardise company's ability to delivery the Landing Ship Dock Auxiliary capability. The Swan Hunter undertook the engineering risk in delivering against the original contract. However, in September 2003, when the company announced that it could not absorb the risk and complete the contract at the agreed price and timescale, both financial and timescale risks were in effect transferred to the MOD.
	This new Landing Ship Dock Auxiliary class will provide a significantly enhanced capability that will enable the faster deployment of troops, vehicles and stores into operational and front line areas, at a safer distance and in worse sea conditions than the Landing Ships they will replace. The construction of Largs Bay and Lyme Bay is virtually complete and the retention of Swan Hunter as the lead yard offers MOD and the taxpayer the best value for money solution for delivering this new capability.

Military Aircraft Crashes

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military aircraft crashes have occurred in the UK in each year since 1993.

Ivor Caplin: The information requested is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of air accidents 
		
		
			 1993 12 
			 1994 10 
			 1995 10 
			 1996 12 
			 1997 9 
			 1998 7 
			 1999 12 
			 2000 8 
			 2001 (11)9 
			 2002 8 
			 2003 2 
			 2004 6 
			 Total 105 
		
	
	(11) This figure includes two USAF F15 aircraft.
	The figures show air accidents in the UK and surrounding waters, resulting in category four or five damage. These are defined as: (Category 4)—damage to an aircraft that is not repairable on site because special facilities or equipment is unavailable; or (Category 5) damaged beyond economic repair. The figures exclude aircraft damage due to hostile action or ground accidents.

Mutual Defence Agreement

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Exchange of Information and Visits reports have been generated since 1975 as part of the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement; and if he will place copies of them in the Library.

Adam Ingram: Since 1975, Exchanges of Information by Visit and Report have been raised in 34 subjects. Reports are being withheld in order not to prejudice international relations and to safeguard national security.

Official Residences

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the official residences for which his Department is responsible; who occupies each one; what the annual cost is of running each property; what contribution the occupants of each make towards running costs; what the total capital and refurbishment expenditure has been on those properties in each of the past five years; how much money was spent in each property on (a) flowers and plants, (b) wine and entertaining, (c) food, (d) telephone bills and (e) electricity and gas in 2003–04; how many (i) domestic and (ii) maintenance staff are employed at each property, broken down by post; and what the total cost of staff employment was in 2003–04.

Ivor Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 20 January 2005, Official Report, column 1037W. I would also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 November 2003, Official Report, column 1273W, to the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Mr. Flight).

Service Accommodation

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will cause additional service married quarters accommodation to be built to house armed forces personnel of the same sex living together in partnerships.

Ivor Caplin: There should be no requirement to build new houses.

Service Accommodation

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effects upon availability of accommodation in married quarters for service families of making them available to personnel of the armed forces of the same sex living together in partnership.

Ivor Caplin: It is not possible to identify the number of Service personnel who will elect to enter into a Civil Partnership. However, it is assessed that the numbers will be small and any associated requirement for married quarters would be absorbed within the existing housing management margin.

Service Medals

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2004, Official Report, column 1229W, on service medals, how many personnel who have served in operational theatres since 1997 and have fulfilled the awarding criteria for a medal have yet to receive the medal; how many service personnel who have fulfilled the criteria for long service medals have yet to receive the medal; how many personnel who have served in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Sierra Leone, (c) Iraq and (d) the Balkans (i) fulfil the criteria for, (ii) have received and (iii) have yet to receive the relevant campaign medal; and what the longest period is for which a serviceman has had to wait for a medal awarded for service since 1997.

Ivor Caplin: The information is not held in the format requested. However, all medals irrespective of type are normally engraved and despatched by the Department within two weeks of eligibility being established.
	As at 4 February 2005 there were 4,815 personnel whose eligibility had been established, but had yet to receive their medal. Of these, 2,782 medals were waiting to be engraved, including 651 Iraq medals and 358 Canal Zone medals. The balance of 1,773 comprised all other awards including those for Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and long service medals.
	In the remaining 2,033 cases, medals had been engraved and were awaiting despatch, but it is not possible to break these down by medal type.
	Medals for service in the Balkans are NATO medals, which are normally issued by the NATO authorities in the operational theatre details. Figures relating to these medals are not held by the MOD.

Tornado GR4

John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where he plans to house the additional service personnel who will provide depth support for the Tornado GR4 at RAF Marham; and at what estimated cost.

Adam Ingram: The issue of accommodation was considered during the affordability analysis of the Investment Appraisal options. Further planning is now taking place to define the accommodation requirements at RAF Marham as progress is made in implementing the End to End programme.

Transport Aircraft

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the lift capability of the (a) A400M and (b) C-130 Hercules is.

Adam Ingram: The A400M is contracted to deliver a load capability of 32 tonnes. The C-130 Hercules Mk 3 has a normal maximum load capability of 18 tonnes.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the total value in (a) monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the country's total gross domestic product of (i) opium and heroin production in and (ii) opium and heroin exports from Afghanistan in each financial year since 2001–02; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) conducts an annual survey into the level of opium poppy cultivation and production in Afghanistan. Full details can be found on their website http://www.unodc.org.
	UNODC assesses that opium production and farm gate value of opiates in Afghanistan since 1999 is:
	
		
			  Production (tonnes) Farm gate value (US$) 
		
		
			 1999 4,600 183 million 
			 2000 3,300 91 million 
			 2001 185 56 million 
			 2002 3,400 1.2 billion 
			 2003 3,600 1.02 billion 
			 2004 4,200 0.6 billion 
		
	
	Since 2003 UNODC have also looked to assess the value of opiate exports from Afghanistan:
	
		
			  Total export value of opiates (US$ billion) Percentage of licit GDP 
		
		
			 2003 2.3 50 
			 2004 2.8 60 
		
	
	The UK, as lead nation, is committed to supporting the Afghan Government in the implementation of their comprehensive National Drug Control Strategy. I refer the hon. Member to the written statement I made on Afghanistan: Counter Narcotics on 29 November 2004, Official Report, columns 17–18WS.

Civil Servants

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his estimate is of the annual cost of the enhanced early retirement scheme for civil servants in his Department and its agencies, for each year from 1997–98 to 2003–04 and what the estimated cost will be in each year from 2004–05 to 2007–08; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The cost of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) enhanced early retirement schemes from 1997–98 to 2003–04 is shown in the table. Final figures for 2004–05 are not yet available. However, as a result of a recent trawl for volunteers to help meet the FCO's efficiency targets, we estimate the cost of the early retirement programme between 2004–05 and 2007–08 to be around £30 million.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 2,824,767 
			 1998–99 3,314,768 
			 1999–2000 3,801,817 
			 2000–01 1,871,688 
			 2001–02 2,825,390 
			 2002–03 2,983,651 
			 2003–04 3,814,280

Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter of 20 October 2004, from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford, transferred from the Home Office on 1 November 2004, Ref. M15507/4, concerning Mr. Christian Magnussen.

Chris Mullin: UKVisas, the Department responsible for entry clearance matters arising overseas, replied to the hon. Member on 16 December 2004.

Counter-terrorism Intelligence

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries with which the UK officially shares intelligence of a counter-terrorism nature; through what channels this intelligence sharing is undertaken; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The security and intelligence agencies engage in liaison with the intelligence and law enforcement agencies in a large number of countries where we have common interests and concerns. Such arrangements depend on confidentiality and it is not the Government's policy to comment further on them.

Departmental Publications for the Visually Impaired

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what proportion of publications issued by his Department are available in (a) Braille, (b) autoprint, (c) large print and (d) easy read format.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 24 January 2005
	Of the 70 publications produced by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services Publishing at the behest of FCO budget holders during 2003–04, other than the Departmental Report which was produced in 11 point type, none were requested to be made available in Braille, autoprint, large print or easy to read formats.
	However, FCO Services continue to encourage budget holders to provide material in other formats where appropriate. Many are available on-line at www.fco.gov.uk and the FCO Departmental Report was produced with the co-operation of the Plain English Campaign and typeset in a larger size. The FCO web platform meets UK Government guidelines on accessibility for the visually impaired allowing text and images on websites to be displayed via screen readers and Braille displays.

Diplomatic Posts

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons he is closing the British Embassy in Madagascar.

Chris Mullin: As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear in his written statement on 15 December 2004, Official Report, columns 137–40WS, we are making changes to our overseas network to reflect changing demands and challenges and to ensure the UK has a cost-effective and flexible network of overseas representation. This involves the closure of several diplomatic posts including the British Embassy in Antananarivo.
	This is in no way a reflection on the current Government of Madagascar or on the quality of our bilateral relations. We will work with the Government of Madagascar to establish alternative forms of British representation, probably through an Honorary Consul in Antananarivo, supported by non-resident accreditation from one of our diplomatic posts in the region.

Diplomatic Posts

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether closures of British missions other than those already publicly announced are planned for financial years 2005–06 and 2006–07.

Jack Straw: No further decisions have been made to close missions, but as circumstance change we continuously review the shape of the network to align our resources more effectively to our priorities.

Diplomatic Posts

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects on British interests of the closure of the British embassies in (a) El Salvador, (b) Honduras and (c) Nicaragua.

Bill Rammell: The decision to close our embassies in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua was taken based on the need to align our resources with our priorities, to maximise efficiency and ensure that the UK has a cost-effective and flexible network of overseas representation.
	However, we continue to have good relations, and work closely, with these countries. We have appointed non-resident Ambassadors to El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua to maintain British interests in the region through working visits, and we continue to provide consular services through Honorary Consuls in each country.

EC-Canada Joint Committee

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch Presidency of the EU the EC-Canada Joint Committee met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: I have been asked to reply.
	The EU-Canada Joint Co-operation Committee met once under the Italian and once under the Dutch presidencies, on 24 November 2003 in Ottawa and 30 November 2004 in Brussels respectively. It did not meet under the Irish presidency. This is a Commission led group, which the Presidency of the day attends as an observer only. As such there were no British officials present at these meetings. Further information may be found at www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

EU Commissioners

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's policy is on EU Commissioners' involvement in the domestic politics of member states.

Denis MacShane: The current Treaty articles on the Commission make clear the complete independence enjoyed by the members of the Commission, who are required to discharge their duties in the general interest of the Community.
	The UK Government fully supports the Code of Conduct for Commissioners, which states that "Commissioners may be active members of political parties or trade unions, provided that this does not compromise their availability for service in the Commission."

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the (i) EEC-Russia Co-operation Committee, (ii) EC-Georgia Co-operation Committee and (iii) EC-San Marino Co-operation Committee met; when and where each meeting took place; what UK Government expert was present at each meeting; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: During this period, there was one meeting of the EU-Georgia Co-operation Committee—on 16 July 2004 in Brussels. There were two meetings of the EU-Russia Co-operation Committee—on 20 October 2003 in Moscow and on 21 October 2004 in Brussels. There was one meeting of the EU-San Marino Co-operation Committee—on 12 July 2004 in Brussels. As Co-operation Committees are chaired by the Commission, with support from the presidency, there were no UK representatives at these meetings. However, the UK participated fully in formulating the EU's position for the meetings.

Intelligence

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are being taken within the Counter Terrorism Policy Department to optimise systems for the processing of intelligence information; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: holding answer 23 February 2005
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Counter Terrorism Policy Department (CTPD) receives electronically an average of around 270 intelligence reports a week. As Sir Michael Jay, the Permanent Under-Secretary at the FCO, foreshadowed to the Foreign Affairs Committee in February 2003, the number of officers dealing with these reports has been increased—from two to five. These officers immediately alert all other FCO colleagues who need to be aware of particular reports, and ensure that any necessary action is set in hand—for example, prompt revision of FCO Travel Advice. CTPD is supported by a team of three FCO officers located within the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC)—a multi-agency body which brings together those involved across government in assessing and reporting of terrorist threat intelligence. This arrangement ensures that CTPD has advance notice of JTAC threat reports.

Iran

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many persons under 18 years he estimates are held under death penalty sentence in Iran; what information he has received in relation to each person's (a) personal details and (b) crime; what representations the Government has made, and on what date, in respect of each individual case; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We take the sentencing to death of juveniles very seriously. Ministers have made clear our concerns on many occasions. Most recently I did so when I met the Iranian Ambassador on 7 February.
	Amnesty International report that there are currently at least 30 juveniles awaiting execution. With our strong support the EU has, in the last six months, urged the Iranian authorities to review the sentences imposed on 15 juvenile cases. Individual cases also form an important part of the EU-Iran Human Rights Dialogue; the last session took place in June 2004.
	The UK, along with all other EU member states, co-sponsored a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on 21 December, which called on Iran, "to comply with its obligations under article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights not to impose the sentence of death for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age".

Iran

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department has received on the number of sentences of (a) execution and (b) amputation in Iran in each of the last five years; how many were carried out on persons under 18 years of age; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We have serious concerns about the use of the death penalty in Iran. We have made our concern clear to the Iranian authorities on many occasions. The latest figures from Amnesty International indicate that 108 people were executed in Iran in 2003. And that since 1990 11 juvenile offenders have been executed.
	The Iranian authorities declared a "moratorium" on amputations in March 2003. We are concerned by reports that people continue to receive sentences of amputation but it is unclear whether any amputations have been carried out.

Iraq

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Governments of (a) Syria, (b) Iran and (c) Jordan on insurgency in Iraq.

Bill Rammell: Ministers and officials frequently discuss the situation in Iraq with the Syrian, Jordanian, and Iranian authorities. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised this issue with Syrian Foreign Minister Shara'a in October 2004 and our ambassador in Damascus raises it on a regular basis. My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean discussed the situation in Iraq with King Abdullah of Jordan in October 2004 and February 2005 respectively. The Foreign Secretary met with Hassan Rouhani, Secretary General of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council on 13 December 2004 and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Director-General John Sawers met with Foreign Minister Kharrazi and other senior figures in Iran's Government on 2 February 2005.

Israel

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the likelihood of the Israeli Government's budget being approved by the Knesset before 31 March; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: This is a matter for the Israeli Government.

Israel

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom regarding Shalom's announced plan to campaign for a national referendum on the proposed pull out of Israeli forces from the occupied territories; what assessment his Department has made of the impact of this plan on the (a) viability of the proposal and (b) perception such proposals foster of the Israeli Government among (i) Palestinian officials, (ii) the Palestinian public and (iii) the Israeli public; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last discussed the disengagement plan with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom during his visit to Israel on 24 November 2004. The Government of Israel do not plan to hold a referendum on the disengagement plan. The debate on whether a referendum should be held is an internal Israeli political matter.
	We welcome Prime Minister Sharon's plan to withdraw all settlements from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. We would like to see any withdrawal take place as soon as possible and be as complete as possible. We see the withdrawal of Israeli troops and dismantling of settlements as a step towards implementing the Roadmap.

Israel

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of Israel's opening of the Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza; what assessment his Department has made of the (a) social and (b) economic impact this will have on (i) the Palestinian workers, (ii) the local community and (iii) the community in the Gaza strip as a whole; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We welcome the announcement by Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz on 10 February that 1,000 Palestinian workers will be permitted to go through the Erez crossing from Gaza into the Erez industrial zone and Israel.
	We have not made a detailed assessment of the impact of Israel's opening of the Erez crossing. We are, however, concerned about the humanitarian and economic consequences of closures and curfews, which restrict the free movement of people and essential supplies between the Occupied Territories and Israel and other countries, as well as within the Occupied Territories themselves. We would like to see the easing of these restrictions continue, notwithstanding further terrorist or suicide attacks at or near the crossing.

Middle East

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the factors that might result in a breakdown of the ceasefire announced by Israel and the Palestinian Authority on 8 February in Sharm al-Sheikh; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We welcome the announcement of a ceasefire made by Prime Minister Sharon and President Abbas at the Sharm-el-Sheikh summit on 8 February. A mutual agreement to end four years of violence is a great step forward. It is critical that both sides stick to their commitments as this will be the best way of achieving long-term stability and enabling a return to the Roadmap. We call upon militant groups not to undermine the efforts made by the Israeli and Palestinian leadership.
	We have not made any specific assessment of the dangers that might result in a breakdown of the ceasefire.

Middle East

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian talks in Sharm el Sheikh on 8 February 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We welcome the declarations made at the Sharm al-Sheikh summit hosted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on 8 February 2005. The agreement by Prime Minister Sharon and President Abbas to end four years of violence is excellent news. We welcome both sides' affirmation of their commitment to the Roadmap and to the vision of a two state solution. We are committed to helping both sides in their efforts to escape the cycle of violence that has marked recent years and get back to the Roadmap.

North Korea

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the nuclear weapons capability of North Korea; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: holding answer 23 February 2005
	The Government have, for some time, had serious concerns about the nuclear programme and nuclear weapons ambitions of the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). We take every opportunity to raise these concerns in our dealings with the DPRK Government.
	The Government assesses that the DPRK extracted sufficient plutonium in the early 1990s for up to two nuclear warheads and that it has the technical capability to weaponise this material. Since then, the DPRK claims to have extracted enough plutonium from its stock of fuel rods to manufacture several additional nuclear warheads. We also believe the DPRK is pursuing efforts towards production of highly enriched uranium.
	We urge the government of the DPRK to resume its engagement in the six-party talks, which aim to address and resolve the concerns of the international community about DPRK's nuclear programmes.

Parliamentary Questions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will provide a substantive answer to the Question from the hon. Member for North Tayside tabled on 6 December 2004, ref. 203691.

Denis MacShane: I replied on 21 February 2005.

Presidency of the European Communities

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on planned (a) commemorative (i) coins and (ii) stamps and (b) other commemorative items in the context of the UK presidency of the European Communities.

Denis MacShane: Her Majesty's Government are not planning to produce coins, stamps or other commemorative items in the context of the UK presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2005.

Publicity

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total expenditure by his Department on (a) advertising and (b) advertising and publicity was in (i) 1996–97, (ii) 1997–98 and (iii) 2003–04; and what the estimate of cost of each will be in (A) 2004–05, (B) 2005–06, (C) 2006–07 and (D) 2007–08.

Douglas Alexander: Our records show that the total expenditure on advertising in 2003–04 was £632,777.
	The total projected spend for 2004–05 is £671,264.
	Total expenditure on publicity in 2003–04 was £559,000 and projected publicity expenditure in 2004–05 is £1.273 million.
	Budgets for 2005–06 have not yet been agreed, but we expect our expenditure on advertising to be at a similar level to the present financial year. It is too early to project spending levels beyond the next financial year.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) overseas posts and its non- departmental public bodies also incur advertising/publicity costs. Information about these costs could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The FCO's records of expenditure on advertising/publicity for the financial years 1996–97 and 1997–98 are not held centrally. Figures for these years could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

Spain

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the UK has made to the Government of Spain regarding its decision to legalise over a million illegal immigrants.

Denis MacShane: We do not believe that governments should tell other governments what their sovereign policy on work and residence permits should be, so we have not sought to tell Spain what their policy should be.

Stem Cell Research

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his oral evidence to the European Scrutiny Committee on 8th February, whether it is his Department's assessment that any UK legislation to restrict stem cell research would be contrary to article 13 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Denis MacShane: Any UK legislation on stem cell research would be drafted so as to be consistent with the European Convention on Human Rights and in particular with the right to freedom of thought and expression enshrined in that Convention, from which Article 13 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is derived.

Stolen Property

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the property belonging to his Department that has (a) been stolen and (b) been reported lost in each year since 1997, broken down by type of article.

Bill Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) maintains an inventory system that comprises a fixed asset register and a non-financial asset inventory worth £1,237,864,000 (2003–04 figures). This covers FCO property held in FCO buildings in the UK and at all overseas missions. The fixed asset register is subject to verification by the FCO Home Estates Department (for the UK) and by overseas missions, usually twice a year. There is a £3,000 threshold for recording centrally FCO fixed assets, which meets FCO fixed assets policy and follows government guidelines. Details of property worth less than £3,000 are only kept by the relevant custodians.
	All FCO entrances are guarded on a 24/7 basis. Most FCO non Information and Communications Technology (ICT) property worth more than £3,000 have electronic security tags. Very heavy and bulky items worth more than £3,000 are not electronically tagged but, given the 24/7 guarding arrangements, the chances of the theft of these items is very limited. Since 1997, there have been no reports of lost or stolen FCO non ICT items worth more than £3,000.
	FCO ICT items are recorded using a bar code system. £4,100 worth of FCO ICT equipment was reported lost in 2004 when we started formally to record these figures. The four items lost were worth less than £3,000 each.

Thailand

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which consultants were used to evaluate the cost of embassies and assess the value of embassy land proposed to be sold in Thailand; and what costs were incurred.

Jack Straw: holding answer 22 February 2005
	Since 2002, when the present project commenced, we have used Brooke Real Estate to provide market updates at six monthly intervals on the diplomatic estate in Bangkok, at a total cost of £16,846.
	Full details of earlier consultancies and costs could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Brooke Real Estate were also paid £20,327 in 1999.

Uzbekistan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  if he will urge the Government of Uzbekistan to undertake an impartial review of all cases of imprisoned journalists in Uzbekistan;
	(2)  what representations he has made to the Government of Uzbekistan about (a) the relaxation of the system of state control over the media through reform of the Agency on Press and Information, (b) easing registration requirements for media outlets and (c) instructing officials to end informal and formal interference in media operations;
	(3)  what representations he has made to the Government of Uzbekistan about strengthening media freedom by (a) ending harassment and censorship of journalists and media outlets and (b) permitting the re-opening of newspapers closed since March 2002.

Bill Rammell: We regularly highlight the importance of free media and free speech in our relations with Uzbekistan, both bilaterally and with our EU partners.
	In April 2004, the UK supported the decision of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to cut around $31 million in economic aid projects to Uzbekistan. Among the reasons given for this action was the lack of press freedom in Uzbekistan.
	In May 2004 our former ambassador to Tashkent marked World Press Freedom Day by delivering a public statement that was critical of media conditions in Uzbekistan. I have publicly backed the statements our former ambassador made regarding human rights abuses in Uzbekistan.
	On 11 November 2004 the EU underlined to Foreign Minister Safayev the importance of balanced and accurate coverage of the December 2004 parliamentary elections in the media.
	We frequently lobby the Uzbek authorities on cases of apparent injustice and harassment of the media that are brought to our attention. For example, with the EU, we raised with Foreign Minister Safayev the issue of Ruslan Sharipov, the journalist and human rights activist arrested in May 2003.
	We will continue to urge the Uzbek authorities to work towards greater freedom of the media and freedom of speech, both bilaterally and with multilateral organisations. We shall also continue to raise with the Uzbek Government individual cases that are brought to our attention. I intend to raise the issue of an impartial review of imprisoned journalists with the Uzbek authorities during my forthcoming visit to Tashkent.

Western Sahara

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures he has taken to discourage oil companies from operating within the disputed territory of the Western Sahara.

Bill Rammell: The Government regard the sovereignty of Western Sahara as undetermined pending United Nations efforts to find a solution to the dispute over the territory. The UN legal counsel gave an opinion on the signing of contracts for exploration of mineral resources in Western Sahara in 2002 (S/2002/161 of 12 February 2002). We fully support this advice.

Western Sahara

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent report by the UN Secretary General about progress towards the referendum on self-determination in the Western Sahara, including the future of MINURSO.

Bill Rammell: The United Kingdom fully supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his special representative Alvaro de Soto to find a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution to the Western Sahara dispute which provides the people of the Western Sahara with an opportunity to exercise their right to self-determination.
	We believe UN efforts to find a solution to the dispute should be maintained and
	continue to urge all parties to the dispute to engage constructively with the UN.

Western Sahara

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the UK has taken to encourage a settlement of the disputed fishing lands off Dakhla, Western Sahara.

Bill Rammell: The UK Government have had no recent discussions regarding fishing lands off Western Sahara.
	However the EU has, on several occasions held discussions with Morocco on fishing since the expiry of the EU Morocco fisheries agreement on 30 November 1999.
	The Government regard the sovereignty of Western Sahara as undetermined pending United Nations efforts to find a solution to the dispute over the territory. We fully support the efforts of the UN Secretary-General to find a fair and lasting solution.

Western Sahara

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Morocco on the continuing detention of Saharawi dissidents in El Ayoun prisons.

Bill Rammell: The UK Government have had no recent discussions with the Government of Morocco regarding the alleged detention of Saharawis in El Ayoun prisons.

Zimbabwe

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what educational, scholarship or hardship funds are made available by his Department to Zimbabwean students wishing to study in the United Kingdom; and what Government assistance is available to Zimbabwean students who, for political or human rights reasons, do not wish to return to Zimbabwe.

Jack Straw: My Department provides support to Zimbabweans wishing to study in the UK through our Chevening Scholarship Programme. This year we are supporting 15 students. A similar number were sponsored last year.
	We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Zimbabwe. Should any student believe that he has a well founded fear of persecution, he is able to apply for asylum in the UK and have it considered in the normal way under the terms of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and British legislation.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefit Office Closures

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the benefit offices earmarked for closure in Scotland.

Jane Kennedy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from David Anderson to Mr. John Thurso, dated 24 February 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the benefit offices earmarked for closure in Scotland. This is something, which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	I have attached, at Annex A, a list of sites in Scotland that have either been closed, merged or are planned for closure as part of the Jobcentre Plus rollout programme and activity to centralise benefit processing. This list includes Social Security Offices, Jobcentres, Jobcentre Plus and Caller Offices in Scotland. Some of the site closures are dependent on the construction of new buildings or the acquisition of new premises.
	It may be helpful if I explain that we are shaping the future Jobcentre Plus network in response to changing business needs. The need for face-to-face facilities for jobsearch and other aspects of our business has been superseded in many instances by new business processes and the use of information technology. For example, nationally, over the last 12 months we have seen an increase of over 40 per cent. in the number of hits on our jobsearch website. Encouraging our customers to use these new channels enables us to focus on those customers who need greatest help. We are also working with local partners to establish a Flexible Service Delivery, which will provide our customers with access to our services on third party premises.
	I can assure you that we are committed to providing a high standard of customer service in Scotland and we will retain a significant network of offices through which customers can access our services.
	I hope you find this helpful.
	
		Annex A: Jobcentre Plus site closures (from April 2002 onwards)
		
			  Region Scotland 
			 Site Status 
		
		
			 Airdrie, Graham Street —(12) 
			 Alexandria, Mitchell Way —(12) 
			 Alloa, Bank Street —(12) 
			 Alness, High Street Closed(13) 
			 Anniesland, 31 Herschell Street Closed(13) 
			 Ardrossan, Princes Street —(12) 
			 Auldhouse, Cogan Road —(12) 
			 Ayr, Carrick Street —(12) 
			 Banff, Bridge Street Closed(13) 
			 Bathgate, South Bridge Street Closed(13) 
			 Bellshill Jobcentre Merger(14) 
			 Benbecula, Druim na Hairde —(12) 
			 Blairgowrie, Lesley Street Closed(13) 
			 Blantyre, Boswell Drive —(12) 
			 Blantyre, Industrial Estate —(12) 
			 Boness, East Pier Street Closed(13) 
			 Boness, North Street —(12) 
			 Bridgeton, Main Street Closed(13) 
			 Cambuslang, Somervell Street —(12) 
			 Carluke, Hamilton Street —(12) 
			 Castle Douglas, Carlingwark Street —(12) 
			 Castlemilk, Arcade —(12) 
			 Clydebank Jobcentre Merger(14) 
			 Coatbridge, Interlink Estate —(12) 
			 Coatbridge, South Circular Merger(14) 
			 Cowdenbeath, Factory Road —(12) 
			 Craigton, Paisley Road West Closed(13) 
			 Cranstonhill, Minerva Street Closed(13) 
			 Cumbernauld, Tryst Road —(12) 
			 Cumnock, Glaisnock Street —(12) 
			 Cumnock, Townhead Street —(12) 
			 Dalkeith, Buccleuch Street Merged(15) 
			 Denny, Church Walk —(12) 
			 Drumchapel, Kinfauns Drive —(12) 
			 Dumbarton, Meadowbank Street —(12) 
			 Dumfries, 124 Irish Street —(12) 
			 Dunfermline, High Street —(12) 
			 East Kilbride, Murray House —(12) 
			 Edinburgh, 38 Castle Terrace —(12) 
			 Edinburgh, Haymarket —(12) 
			 Edinburgh, Torphichen Street —(12) 
			 Elgin, South Street Closed(13) 
			 Falkirk, Grahame House —(12) 
			 Falkirk, High Street —(12) 
			 Forfar, Station Road Closed(13) 
			 Fort William, Tweedale High Street —(12) 
			 Galashiels Jobcentre, Market Street Merged(15) 
			 Girvan, Montgomery Street —(12) 
			 Glasgow Central, Jamaica Street —(12) 
			 Glasgow City, Bath Street —(12) 
			 Glasgow City, Pitt Street Closed(13) 
			 Glasgow, Provan —(12) 
			 Glenrothes, North Street —(12) 
			 Haddington Jobcentre —(12) 
			 Hamilton, 19 Douglas Street —(12) 
			 Hawick, Duke Street Closed(13) 
			 Helensburgh, West Clyde Street Closed(13) 
			 Inverkeithing, Hope Street —(12) 
			 Inverness, Met House —(12) 
			 Irvine, Bank Street —(12) 
			 Johnstone SSO Closed(13) 
			 Kelso, The Square Closed(13) 
			 Kilmarnock Jobcentre Merger(14) 
			 Kilmarnock Action Team, Nelson Street Closed(13) 
			 Kilsyth Jobcentre, Station Road —(12) 
			 Kilsyth SSO, Station Road Closed(13) 
			 Kilwinning, Main Street —(12) 
			 Kirkcaldy, Victoria Road —(12) 
			 Kirkintilloch, Townhead —(12) 
			 Lanark Jobcentre Merger(14) 
			 Largs, Lade Street —(12) 
			 Largs, Seamore Street —(12) 
			 Larkhall, Claude Street —(12) 
			 Larkhall, Union Street —(12) 
			 Laurieston, Devon Place —(12) 
			 Leith, Leith Walk —(12) 
			 Leven, Walton House —(12) 
			 Linwood, Burnbrae Avenue Closed(13) 
			 Livingston, Ochil House Closed(13) 
			 Loanhead, Polton Road Closed(13) 
			 Lockerbie, High Street —(12) 
			 Macduff, Duff Street Closed(13) 
			 Maryhill, 1460 Maryhill Road —(12) 
			 Montrose CSP, Murray Street —(12) 
			 Motherwell, Mason Street —(12) 
			 Nairn, High Street —(12) 
			 Newton Stewart, Queen Street —(12) 
			 Oban, Albany Street Closed(13) 
			 Paisley, 35 Moss Street Closed(13) 
			 Partick Jobcentre Merged(15) 
			 Peebles, Northgate Closed(13) 
			 Perth, Mill Street —(12) 
			 Pollok, Nitshill Road —(12) 
			 Portobello, High Street —(12) 
			 Portobello, Windsor Place —(12) 
			 Portree Jobcentre Merger(14) 
			 Rutherglen, Mitchell Arcade —(12) 
			 Sanquhar, Queensbury Square —(12) 
			 Shettleston, 1682 Shettleston Road Closed(13) 
			 Shotts Jobcentre, Dyfrig Street —(12) 
			 Shotts SSO, Dyfrig Street —(12) 
			 Springburn Merged(15) 
			 Stirling, Wallace House —(12) 
			 Stranraer, Ashwood Drive —(12) 
			 Thurso, Rotterdam Street —(12) 
			 Thurso, Traill House —(12) 
			 Troon, Temple Hill —(12) 
			 Uddingston, Belshill Road —(12) 
			 Wester Hailes Jobcentre Merger(14) 
			 Wick, Government Buildings (partial) —(12) 
			 Wishaw, Kirk Road —(12) 
			 Wishaw, Main Street —(12) 
		
	
	(12) Planned for closure.
	(13) Office has closed to public. Some sites may be retained for non-customer-facing activity.
	(14) Office is co-located with another; one will 'close' as the site is redeveloped to support delivery of the new service.
	(15) Has merged with co-located office.

New Deal for Young People

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many participants on the New Deal for Young People in Leicester, South constituency have been placed on training courses for (a) up to one year and (b) over one year in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: In the Leicestershire South constituency, 20 1 people started the Full Time Education and Training option between October 2003 and September 2004 2 and an additional 1,201 people started on the mandatory two week Gateway to Work course, which can include elements of training. Information on people undertaking other training through New Deal for Young People is not available.
	It is the policy of New Deal for Young People (NDYP) that an individuals training is not funded for longer than 12 months.
	Notes
	1. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. Latest available data.
	Source
	New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information Directorate.

Council Tax Benefit

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much council tax benefit was paid in Scotland in 2003–04 (a) in total and (b) broken down by (i) local authority area and (ii) parliamentary constituency.

Chris Pond: The information is not available for parliamentary constituencies. The available information is in the following table.
	
		Council tax benefit expenditure in Scotland 2003–04by local authority
		
			 Local authority Council tax benefit expenditure (£ million) 
		
		
			 Scotland 335.4 
			 Aberdeen 10.4 
			 Aberdeenshire 7.1 
			 Angus 4.9 
			 Argyll-Bute 5.3 
			 Clackmannanshire 3.2 
			 Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar 1.6 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 7.5 
			 Dundee 12.9 
			 East Ayrshire 8.6 
			 East Dunbartonshire 3.9 
			 East Lothian 4.8 
			 East Renfrewshire 3.2 
			 Edinburgh 25.3 
			 Falkirk 7.4 
			 Fife 18.6 
			 Glasgow 78.5 
			 Highland 10.7 
			 Inverclyde 7.4 
			 Midlothian 4.4 
			 Moray 3.1 
			 North Ayrshire 10.1 
			 North Lanarkshire 22.7 
			 Orkney 0.7 
			 Perth and Kinross 5.5 
			 Renfrewshire 12.5 
			 Scottish Borders 4.6 
			 Shetland 0.6 
			 South Ayrshire 7.0 
			 South Lanarkshire 20.5 
			 Stirling 4.1 
			 West Dunbartonshire 9.8 
			 West Lothian 8.6 
		
	
	Source:
	2003–04 Final Audited Subsidy Data

Council Tax Benefit

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households are in receipt of council tax benefit in (a) the UK, (b) England and (c) Scotland in each local authority area, broken down by income decile.

Chris Pond: The information is not available for local authorities. The available information is in the table.
	
		Council tax benefit caseloads by average weekly income, Great Britain, England and Scotland: May 2003
		
			 Thousand 
			  Great Britain England Scotland 
		
		
			 All cases (Number) 4,628 3,851 519 
			 Average weekly income (£ pw)
			 up to £49.99 6 5 (16)1 
			 £50 to £59.99 3 3 (17)— 
			 £60 to £69.99 19 15 3 
			 £70 to £79.99 19 15 3 
			 £80 to £89.99 33 26 5 
			 £90 to £99.99 72 58 11 
			 £100 to £109.99 117 83 28 
			 £110 to £119.99 279 235 29 
			 £120 to £129.99 208 167 32 
			 £130 to £139.99 187 152 23 
			 £140 to £149.99 223 173 37 
			 £150 to £159.99 344 262 62 
			 £160 to £169.99 332 281 33 
			 £170 to £179.99 290 260 17 
			 £180 to £189.99 221 193 19 
			 £190 to £199.99 234 196 26 
			 £200 to £209.99 198 162 23 
			 £210 to £219.99 225 185 23 
			 £220 to £229.99 192 160 23 
			 £230 to £239.99 204 169 23 
			 £240 to £249.99 184 155 17 
			 £250 to £259.99 181 151 20 
			 £260 to £269.99 137 116 12 
			 £270 to £279.99 127 109 11 
			 £280 to £289.99 101 85 10 
			 £290 to £299.99 84 73 6 
			 £300 to £309.99 65 59 4 
			 £310 to £319.99 54 47 4 
			 £320 to £329.99 44 38 3 
			 £330 to £339.99 35 31 (16)2 
			 £340 to £349.99 35 31 (16)2 
			 £350 and over 172 155 8 
		
	
	(16) Figures are subject to a high degree of sampling variation and should be used only as a guide to the situation.
	(17) Data is nil or negligible.
	Notes:
	1. The figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
	2. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
	3. Council Tax Benefit totals exclude any Second Adult Rebate cases.
	4. The figures are comprised of incomes declared for the assessment of income related benefits (including disregarded income) from Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance (Income based), other benefits/allowances/tax credits and net earnings from employment/self-employment.
	Source:
	Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 2003.

Council Tax Benefit

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what average amount of council tax benefit was paid to each recipient in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Scotland and (d) each local authority area in 2003–04.

Chris Pond: Information is not available for the UK. The available national information is in the table. The information for local authorities has been placed in the Library.
	
		Council tax benefit average weekly amounts, Great Britain, England and Scotland: May 2003 to February 2004
		
			  Average weekly CTB (£ pw) 
		
		
			 Great Britain 12.27 
			 England 12.52 
			 Scotland 11.55 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
	2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest penny.
	3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.
	4. Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult rebate cases.
	Source:
	Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. case load stock-count taken in May 2003 to February 2004.

Council Tax Benefit

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in receipt of council tax benefit are in receipt of another state benefit in each (a) nation and (b) region of the UK, broken down by benefit.

Chris Pond: Information is not available for the UK. The available information is in the tables.
	
		Council tax benefit claimants in receipt of other benefits by country: May 2003 -- Thousand
		
			 Benefit Great Britain England Wales Scotland 
		
		
			 Housing Benefit 3,450 2,880 180 390 
			 Income Support (including MIG) 2,941 2,455 176 310 
			 JSA (income based) 250 206 12 32 
			 JSA (contribution based) 54 44 (18)2 8 
			 Child Benefit 1,206 1,039 65 102 
			 Retirement Pension 2,099 1,735 113 250 
			 Incapacity Benefit 498 390 38 71 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance 97 76 9 11 
			 Industrial Injuries Benefit 46 39 (18)2 5 
			 Attendance Allowance 569 459 40 70 
			 Carers Allowance 178 148 13 17 
			 War Disability Pension 37 29 3 6 
			 War Widows Pension 12 11 (18)1 (18)1 
			 Widows Benefit/Bereavement Benefit 13 11 (18)1 (18)1 
			 DLA Care 677 547 52 77 
			 DLA Mobility 734 589 57 88 
		
	
	
		Council tax benefit claimants in receipt of other benefits by region in England: May 2003 -- Thousand
		
			 Benefit North East North West Yorks & Number East Midland West Midland East London South East South West 
		
		
			 Housing Benefit 220 460 330 210 320 250 520 320 230 
			 Income Support (including MIG) 178 427 279 186 290 209 420 263 202 
			 JSA (income based) 18 31 27 14 31 16 45 14 11 
			 JSA (contribution based) 3 7 5 (18)2 6 3 9 4 4 
			 Child Benefit 69 169 112 71 120 88 220 112 79 
			 Retirement Pension 132 276 201 143 218 173 218 214 161 
			 Incapacity Benefit 38 84 48 33 49 28 42 32 35 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance 7 15 9 6 7 7 9 9 8 
			 Industrial Injuries Benefit 6 8 3 3 4 3 4 3 3 
			 Attendance Allowance 34 79 54 41 65 46 53 45 43 
			 Carers Allowance 14 28 18 14 18 12 18 16 10 
			 War Disability Pension 4 6 (18)2 (18)2 3 3 (18)2 5 3 
			 War Widows Pension (19)— (18)2 (18)1 (18)1 (18)2 (18)1 (18)2 (18)1 (18)1 
			 Widows Benefit/ Bereavement Benefit (18)1 (18)2 (18)1 (18)1 (18)2 (18)1 (18)2 (18)2 (18)1 
			 DLA Care 44 112 68 48 65 46 73 51 41 
			 DLA Mobility 50 128 74 50 71 46 74 54 42 
		
	
	(18) Figures are subject to a high degree of sampling variation and should be used only as a guide to the situation.
	(19) Nil or negligible.
	Notes:
	1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
	2. Figures for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit have been rounded to the nearest 10 thousand.
	3. Figures for all other benefits have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
	4. The totals may not sum due to rounding.
	5. Council Tax Benefit totals exclude any Second Adult Rebate cases.
	6. There will overlap in the figures where a claimant is in receipt of more than one of the benefits listed.
	Source:
	Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 2003.

Council Tax Benefit

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of (a) the impact on council tax benefit payments in Scotland and (b) the financial effects on his Department of the Scottish Parliament replacing council tax with a local income tax.

Chris Pond: No such assessment has been made.

CSA

David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects all Child Support Agency clients registered prior to 3 March 2003 to be transferred to the child support scheme introduced on 3 March 2003.

Chris Pond: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Ashford (Mr. Green) on 8 December 2004, Official Report, column 568W.

CSA

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of full-time equivalent Child Support Agency staff are employed as frontline staff.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 24 February 2005
	In reply to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what percentage of full-time equivalent Child Support Agency staff are employed as frontline staff.
	I am not able to respond precisely to the question as asked. However, I can say that at 31 March 2005 the Agency is planning to employ around 10,300 staff. We have recently baselined the size of our head office function as 286 staff.

CSA

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency staff have been employed in teams handling complaints in each year since 1997.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 24 February 2005
	In reply to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply fro the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Child Support Agency staff have been employed in teams handling complaints in each year since 1997.
	I regret that we do not have the information for the period requested as we have only recently started recording this information separately.
	We are currently employing 930 staff within the agency either directly in teams handling complaints and/or teams handling correspondence from Members of Parliament, stakeholder groups or clients who may have earlier made a complaint.

Five-year Strategy

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what impact he expects the proposals in his Department's five-year strategy to have on (a) the number of people who start claiming incapacity benefits each year and (b) the proportion of these who are still claiming incapacity benefits 12 months after the commencement of their claims;
	(2)  how much of the one million fall in the numbers of people on incapacity benefit targeted in his Department's five-year strategy he expects will be attributable to (a) an increase in the rate at which existing claimants leave incapacity benefits and (b) a reduction in the number of new claimants;
	(3)  what impact he expects the proposals in his Department's five-year strategy to have on (a) the number of people who start claiming incapacity benefits in each year and (b) the proportion of these who are still claiming incapacity benefits 12 months after the commencement of their claims;
	(4)  what his timetable is for progress against his objective of reducing the number of people on incapacity benefits by one million;
	(5)  by what date he expects the number of people on incapacity benefits to have fallen by one million if the plans outlined in his Department's five-year strategy are implemented.

Jane Kennedy: Reducing the numbers of people on incapacity benefits by one million is a long term aspiration.
	This long-term aspiration is challenging. It will require continued macroeconomic stability and further radical welfare reform to build on the success that has already been achieved. New claims are already down by 30 per cent. since 1997. The caseload has peaked after decades when the numbers increased—particularly in the 1990s when the caseload trebled. And in the latest two quarters there have been the first signs of a fall.
	It is not possible to put a firm timetable on this. Not only does it require legislative changes we also need to review the evidence from the successful Pathways to Work pilots and successfully roll-out the programme.
	We are already making progress. The significant improvement in off-flow rates registered in the pathways to work pilots, with 5,500 job entries up to last August, also shows for the first time how significant additional numbers of people on incapacity benefits can be helped back to work.
	Realisation of our aspiration will depend on further evidence from pathways (for example on the impact of work-focused interviews for existing claimants, starting this month) and other initiatives. It will also depend on when we can start to understand the additional impact of the new arrangements set out in the five year strategy. Outside of DWP it will also depend on the scale of progress on, for example, fitness for work issues and progress on employers' sickness absence management policies.
	Progress towards our aspiration should come, in part, from improving support so people do not need to come onto IB, that is, reducing inflows and improving off-flows by helping more people to leave the benefit for work.

Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the treatment of lump sum payments for those who have deferred drawing their retirement pension under the terms of the Pensions Act 2005 in (a) measurement of capital when assessing entitlement to means-tested benefits and (b) liability for income tax in the year in which the lump sum is drawn.

Malcolm Wicks: For the first time ever we are giving people the chance to defer their State Pension and build up a lump sum. Where a person chooses to take a lump sum, the intention is for the full amount to be disregarded in the calculation of their capital in pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit during their lifetime.
	Taxation is a matter for the Chancellor, but it is proposed to tax the lump sum at the marginal rate (currently 10 per cent., 22 per cent., 40 per cent. or if not liable to tax—no deduction) applicable to the person's other income, either in the tax year in which the person starts drawing his State Pension or, if the person so chooses, the tax year following. Payment of a lump sum will not count as income for the age-related personal allowance.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Andersonstown News Group

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has sought European Commission state aids approval for all or part of the Government's and Invest Northern Ireland's financial support to the Andersonstown News Group; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: During the five-year period for which figures are readily available (1 April 1999–31 December 2004) funding from Northern Ireland central Government sources has been made available to the Andersonstown News Group (ANG) from a number of Northern Ireland Departments. The state aids approval position in respect of this funding is detailed as follows.
	Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI)
	DETI offered £92,248 under the EU Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation's (Peace I) Interest Relief Subsidy Scheme (a scheme offered through local banks, subject to scrutiny by DETI and the European Investment Bank). This was notified to the European Commission and clearance received.
	DETI offered £270,000 under the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (Peace II) for workspace units (not related to the ANG's printing and publishing of newspapers.) This was assessed against state aid rules and was deemed not to be state aid as the support was not considered to have the potential to distort competition.
	The Local Enterprise Development Unit (a predecessor body of Invest NI) provided funding for marketing, employment and management salary grants. This funding was issued under a notified scheme approved by the European Union Commission.
	Support of £37,056 for training and development was provided under the Company Development Programme (CDP)(now managed by Invest NI). In 1993 the Commission formally acknowledged CDP as a regional aid scheme. In 1998 the Commission required all training support to be compliant with a new framework on training aid. At that stage action to re-notify was started but not followed through. To address this the block exemption report on CDP issued to the Commissioners on 27 July 2004 and the Commission acknowledgement was dated 30 July 2004.
	DETI are providing funding of £4,000 via InterTradeIreland 1 through the Acumen programme. This programme is designed to stimulate cross-border trade by assisting individual SME's with tailored consultancy and sales salary support mechanisms. The programme is a partnership funded by Invest NI, Enterprise Ireland (in the Republic of Ireland) and InterTradelreland. The programme was treated as exempt under the SME Block Exemption. This has been registered with the European Commission
	Office of First Minister Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM)
	Funding of £33,500 provided by OFMDFM was for the Irish language newspaper Lá. As it was the only Irish language newspaper in existence OFMDFM took the view that there was no distortion or potential distortion of competition and consequently the state aid rules would not be applicable.
	Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP)
	Peace I funding of £5,095 was provided by DFP under the District Partnerships Sub Programme for which Department of the Environment had oversight. This funding was for accommodation and administration costs. The amount involved did not exceed €100,000 and accordingly was within the Commission's established relevant de-minimis arrangements for small amounts of aid.
	DFP in Northern Ireland and the Department of Finance in the Republic of Ireland, have approved funding of £199,150 in respect of a joint application from Preas an Phobail and Comharchumann Forbartha. Funding is for the expansion of Lá in selected border areas. The funding complies with state aid regulations on the basis that it is the only existing Irish language newspaper and does not have the potential to distort competition between EU member states.
	Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL)
	The Arts Council for Northern Ireland (a non-departmental public body of DCAL) provided £54,400 funding towards the production of La. The amount involved did not exceed €100,000 and accordingly was within the Commission's established relevant de-minimis arrangements for small amounts of aid.
	DCAL, through Foras na Gaeilge 2 the Irish Language Agency, has provided funding of £148,439 for the publication of La. DCAL has been advised by Foras that the aid is compatible with European Union law on state aid.
	Department of Social Development (PSD)
	DSD provided £277,375 under the Department's Urban Development Grant (UDG) scheme (23 November 1999) to assist the construction of new purpose built printworks and offices. The UDG scheme has been notified to the European Commission who consider it to be compatible with the EC Treaty. Consequently, UDG funding to the Andersonstown News is compatible with state aid rules.
	DSD also provided £70,000 via Making Belfast Work (MBW) (March 2000). MBW is designed to augment mainstream spend by Departments in the most deprived areas of Belfast across a range of community interventions. At the time of funding, the Andersonstown News was a local community newspaper which did not trade across boundaries, and the content of which meant that it was not considered to have the potential to be tested across national boundaries. Following an internal economic appraisal the grant was not considered to support a tradable activity because the paper was unique and covered only local community issues. This funding was therefore not considered to be a notifiable state aid.
	1 InterTradeIreland (the Trade and Business Development Body) is funded jointly by DETI in Northern Ireland and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) in the Republic of Ireland. DETI contributes 33.3 per cent. and DETE 66.6 per cent. of the funding.
	2 Foras na Gaeilge (the Irish Language Agency of the North/South Language Implementation Body) is funded jointly by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) in Northern Ireland and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (DCGRA) in the Republic of Ireland. DCAL contributes 25 per cent. and DCGRA contributes 75 per cent. of the funding.

Cleaning

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the costs of cleaning the Department were in each year since 1997.

Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office (excluding its agencies and NDPBs) has spent the following on cleaning in each year since 1997:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 79,023 
			 1998–99 108,235 
			 1999–2000 118,178 
			 2000–01 118,369 
			 2001–02 125,025 
			 2002–03 263,062 
			 2003–04 195,192

Criminal Justice

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether offences proscribed in Part II of the draft Criminal Justice (Evidence) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 will include offences committed in respect of children aged 17 years.

John Spellar: The Criminal Justice Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 provides the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with a power to prescribe categories of offences which are 'of the same type' for use as an indicator that a defendant has a propensity to commit offences of a certain type. The draft proposed Criminal Justice (Evidence) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 (Categories of Offences) Order 2005 proposes two such categories of offences: Part I deals with offences of theft; Part II deals with sexual offences against persons aged under the age of 17.
	While Part II of the draft Order focuses on children aged under 17, any relevant previous conviction—including those committed against persons aged 17 or over—may be admissible at trial even when no relevant category of offences has been introduced. Both Part I and Part II categories are intended as a guide to the judiciary. Nor does the absence of categories for other types of offences prevent previous convictions from being admitted if they demonstrate a propensity to commit a certain type of offence. Further categories may be introduced at a later date.

Decommissioning Commission

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of the Independent International Decommissioning Commission has been in each year since it was established.

Ian Pearson: The Commission's running costs are shared equally between the British and Irish Governments. The British Government's share of the costs for each financial year, since the establishment of the Commission is as follows:
	
		
			  Cost (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 428,256 
			 1998–99 534,835 
			 1999–2000 603,600 
			 2000–01 701,814 
			 2001–02 677,973 
			 2002–03 309,600 
			 2003–04 276,729 
			 2004–05 (Up to and including December 2004) 263,778 
			 Total 3,796,585

Electoral Register

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many electors in each constituency will have their names restored to the electoral register in Northern Ireland before the local government elections on 5 May 2005.

John Spellar: The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland estimates that approximately 83,000 former electors on the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland's database will be carried forward, distributed across the 18 constituencies. Precise numbers per constituency that are carried forward will not be known until 1 April 2005 register (the register that will be in use for the local government elections in May) is actually published.

In-house Magazines

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent on the production of in-house magazines in the Department in each year since 1997.

Paul Murphy: The amount spent on the production of in-house magazines in the Northern Ireland Office is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2004–05 Financial year 15,012 
			 2003–04 Financial year 14,893 
			 2002–03 Financial year 15,577 
			 2001–02 Financial year 3,830 
			 2000–01 0 
			 1999–2000 0 
			 1998–99 0 
			 1997–98 0

Invest NI/LVM

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much financial assistance has been offered by Invest NI to LVM to locate new premises in (a) West Belfast and (b) East Belfast; and if he will make a statement on the status of this project.

Barry Gardiner: Disclosure of this information is likely to prejudice the interests of the Northern Ireland economy. In accordance with section 29a of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, it would therefore not be in the public interest to release the information requested by the hon. Lady.

Organised Crime

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the Government's response to the assessment made by Professor Goldstock, in his report on organised crime in Northern Ireland, of the possible impact of new laws modelled on the United States Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act.

Ian Pearson: The Government accepted the majority of Professor Goldstock's recommendations, but concluded that a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) type Act was not required at this stage. Law enforcement agencies in Northern Ireland continue to work closely to ensure that the best use is made of existing conspiracy legislation. In addition the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 provides a robust framework for dealing with criminal assets.

Parades Commission

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he has taken to ensure that, where reports of monitors acting on behalf of the Parades Commission contain evidence of breaches of determinations, those reports are routinely handed to the police service of Northern Ireland for investigation and the results of that investigation are fed back to the Commission.

Ian Pearson: Rule 3.3 of the Parades Commission's Procedural rules outlines the confidential treatment of all evidence and information received by the Commission, including monitors' reports.
	In light of Rule 3.3 there is no routine handing of reports to the PSNI in the circumstances outlined. However, the Commission is mindful of the need to work with the police to promote disciplined and responsible parading where parading is notified to take place. The Commission will take a judgment on when it is appropriate to refer a specific incident to the police.

Parades Commission

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assistance is available from the Police Service of Northern Ireland to assist the Parades Commission in establishing a Compliance and Post-mortem Unit.

Ian Pearson: PSNI have advised in their evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee that they could assist with the supply of information to the Commission on how to manage the process of establishing a Compliance and Post-mortem Unit and would be willing to work with them in the setting up of protocols/administrative arrangements should the Commission seek such assistance.

Police

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police personnel were on duty in each police station in the Coleraine District Council area over each weekend during the first two weeks of January.

Ian Pearson: The number of officers on duty per shift in the first two weekends of January 2005, in stations within the Coleraine District Command Unit, was as follows:
	
		
			  Coleraine DCU Personnel Tactical Support Group 
			  Early Night Early Night 
		
		
			 1 January 2005 23 37 24 0 
			 2 January 2005 20 21 21 0 
			 8 January 2005 20 29 0 0 
			 9 January 2005 20 19 25 0 
		
	
	The figures relate to both the early shift 0700–1900 hours and night shift 1900–0700 hours. The numbers reflect officers on duty for duty shifts only. They do not include Sector Police, CID, and support officers such as Crime Prevention, Operational Planning, National Intelligence and Community Safety. Officers attached to the Tactical Support Group are available to provide support anywhere within the District Command Unit.

Police

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average response time from a call to the emergency number to attendance by a Police Service of Northern Ireland officer at an incident in Newtownards was in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Ian Pearson: The Police Service of Northern Ireland does not currently record the response time to emergency calls.
	The response time to emergency calls (999) will be part of the forthcoming policing plan, and will thus be recorded in the financial year to come.

Police

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements are in place for full-time reserve officers to transfer from the Police Service Northern Ireland to other police services in Great Britain.

Paul Murphy: While legislation exists to permit the direct transfer of regular officers in the PSNI to police forces in GB, and vice versa, the unique status of the Full-time Reserve means that there is no such provision, nor has there ever been, for FTR officers seeking to transfer on a similar basis.
	Such officers may of course apply to join GB forces through the recruitment procedures which apply to that force. With that in mind, officials in the NIO have been working with colleagues in the PSNI, Policing Board and Police Federation to co-ordinate the staging of a careers fair to assist FTR officers who wish to pursue police careers elsewhere.

Police

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police service of Northern Ireland officers work within the Ards district of Northern Ireland, broken down by principal duty conducted by each officer.

Ian Pearson: The details for police officers attached to Ards District Command Unit on 8 February 2005 are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Duty type Regular and FTR Part-time reserve 
		
		
			 Security Duty 5 — 
			 Call Management 8 — 
			 Station Duty Officer 5 — 
			 Response Policing Teams 113 60 
			 Community Policing Team 15 5 
			 Support to Response and Community Policing(20) 19 — 
			 Senior Command (Chief Insp. and above) 2 — 
			 DCU Criminal Investigation 12 — 
			 Total 179 65 
		
	
	(20) Including Custody officers, National Intelligence Model officers, Operational Planning, Community Safety officers, Domestic Violence Officers, Youth Diversion Officers, Crime Prevention Officers etc.

Police

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police stations were in operation in Ards in each of the last six years.

Ian Pearson: The following stations currently open in Ards District Command Unit are:
	Newtownards —24 hour opening
	Comber—Limited Opening
	Donaghadee—Limited Opening
	Portaferry—Limited Opening
	Greyabbey Station was last used for limited opening 18 months ago, and would be occasionally used by the local community policing team.

Police

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Police Service of Northern Ireland officers stationed in Ards were on out-of-station duties on an average shift in the last period for which figures are available.

Ian Pearson: On 20 January 2005, the following resources were deployed on out of station duties:
	
		
			  12 hour early shift 8 hour early shift 8 hour late shift 12 hour night shift 
		
		
			 Response Team 10 1 2 9 
			 Community Policing 0 10 9 0 
			 CID — 4 3 — 
		
	
	Averages are not recorded. To calculate such an average for a defined period would involve a manual trawl of records, and would incur disproportionate cost.

Water and Sewerage

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether it is his policy that the commissioning of the new waste water treatment works at Killinchy should be delayed if there is evidence of seawater regress into the sewerage infrastructure.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Water Service (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) has been asked to write to the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	Letter from Katharine Bryan to Mrs. Iris Robinson, dated February 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about the possible delay in the commissioning of the new Wastewater Treatment Works at Killinchy if there is evidence of seawater regress into the sewerage Infrastructure (217466). I have been asked to reply as the issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Water Service.
	The new Works at Killinchy is currently on schedule for completion and commissioning by September 2005 at an estimated cost of £2.5 million. Under the wastewater project, which involves pumping the flow from Whiterock, Water Service will be undertaking a survey and examination of the sewerage infrastructure in the Whiterock area. The outcome of that investigation will not delay commissioning of the new wastewater treatment works at Killinchy.

Water and Sewerage

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he expects the work under way to upgrade the waste water treatment works at Killinchy/Whiterock to be completed and commissioned by September.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Water Service (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) has been asked to write to the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	Letter from Katharine Bryan to Mrs. Iris Robinson, dated February 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question as to whether, works currently underway to upgrade the Wastewater Treatment Works at Killinchy/Whiterock will be completed and commission by September. (217467). I have been asked to reply as the issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Water Service.
	Preliminary construction/site clearance for the new Works commenced at Killinchy in September 2004 with full construction getting underway in November 2004. The project is currently on programme for completion and commissioning by September 2005 at a projected cost of £2.5 million.

Water and Sewerage

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Water Service has for replacing the Whiterock Bay sewer; and whether the Water Service plans to provide (a) a storm overflow with a fully operational flap on the outfall, (b) a storm retention tank and (c) pumps upgrade.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Water Service (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) has been asked to write the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	Letter from Mrs. Katharine Bryan to Mrs. Iris Robinson, dated 24 February 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about what plans the Water Service has for replacing the Whiterock Bay Sewer; and whether the Water Service plans to provide a storm overflow with a fully operational flap on the outfall; a storm retention tank and pumps upgrade (217468). I have been asked to reply as the issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Water Service.
	Water Service is confident that the main sewer at Whiterock Bay is operating satisfactorily, and there are no plans to replace it. Water Service intends however to carry out a survey and examination of the sewerage infrastructure under the Killinchy wastewater treatment works project. I will keep you informed of any conclusion reached as a result of that investigation.

Water and Sewerage

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether recent sewerage spillages occurring in Whiterock Bay have been found to be directly attributable to the unscreened storm overflow located there.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Water Service (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) has been asked to write to the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	Letter from Mrs. Katharine Bryan to Mrs. Iris Robinson, dated 24 February 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question as to whether recent sewerage spillages occurring at Whiterock Bay have been found to be directly attributable to the unscreened storm overflow located there. (217469). I have been asked to reply as the issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Water Service.
	The unscreened combined sewer overflow to which you refer is situated on the main sewer in Whiterock to the northwest of the boat park. Its purpose is to prevent out of sewer flooding during periods of heavy rain, when the flow in the main sewer can exceed its capacity, by discharging the excess flow into Whiterock Bay. Combined sewer overflows are a common feature on many sewerage systems in the UK.
	Water Service has no record of complaints about this particular combined sewer overflow or about sewage spillages in the Bay. However, if you can provide me with specific details of sewage spillages, I will have the matter investigated as a matter or urgency.

Water and Sewerage

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether there has been evidence of seawater ingress in the sewerage infrastructures at Whiterock.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Water Service (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) has been asked to write to the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	Letter from Mrs. Katharine Bryan to Mrs. Iris Robinson, dated 24 February 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question as to whether there has been evidence of seawater ingress in the sewerage infrastructures at Whiterock (217481). I have been asked to reply as the issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Water Service.
	I can confirm that Water Service will be undertaking a survey and examination of the sewerage infrastructure in the Whiterock area as part of the wastewater scheme for the Killinchy wastewater treatment works. I will write to you again when the outcome is known.